Serbia slams Macedonia's establishment of diplomatic relations with Kosovo

Serbia slams Macedonia's establishment of diplomatic relations with Kosovo

Mon, Oct 19 2009 11:30 CET

The signing of the October 17 2009 agreement between Macedonia and Kosovo to establish diplomatic relations will exacerbate tensions between Skopje and Belgrade, Serbian ministers said.
 
Kosovo foreign minister Skender Hyseni and his Macedonian counterpart Antonio Milososki signed the agreement after the two countries resolved their border dispute.
 
Serbian foreign minister Vuk Jeremic said that the decision by Macedonia's government was a "pity" and said that the decision would "have consequences".
 
"For border demarcation issues with Serbia, neighboring countries can only talk with the government in Belgrade," Jeremic said.
 
Belgrade has refused to recognise Kosovo's February 2008 unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia.
 
Serbian minister for Kosovo Oliver Ivanovic said that the decision by the Macedonian parliament to ratify the agreement with Kosovo "might solve the boundary problem, but this will bring additional tensions to the already fragile relations between Serbia and Macedonia".
 
Macedonian authorities should understand that it was in their own strategic interest to have good relations with Serbia, Ivanovic said.