Garic: For Serbia, there is no good proposal from the West regarding Kosovo, but we have to talk

It was completely clear that for Serbia there could be no good proposal from the West in relation to Kosovo, at least at this moment, but one could only talk about a lesser or greater evil, the editor of the Kosovo online portal, Milos Garic, said.

"We have the document, but we don't know if it is definitive. We have to talk, but without hasty conclusions and hysteria," Garic said on the show "Debata" on Insajder TV.

He stated that some versions of the text of the proposal had appeared, primarily in Tirana, that all the media in the region had reported them, and that there had probably been some truth to it, but that there still had been no clear proposal, based on which everyone could determine its state.

Garic also pointed out that the environment had to be understood that was the moment in which the Serbs in Kosovo were going through the days of the struggle for survival.

"In the past months, there were attacks on the Serbs; the barricades were a reflection of the revolt because of everything they were going through in the previous period. Kurti's government wants to completely disenfranchise the Serbs, make meaningless all attempts to form the CSM, which should provide a basic guarantee for the security and the future of the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija," Garic said.

The position of Serbia and the Serbs in Kosovo, he says, is that what was agreed upon must be established first, which is the CSM and that on the basis that was agreed upon, and not some new version, which would avoid executive powers.

"We have to fight to ensure the safety of the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija. Behind that, we can talk about the plan prepared by the EU, which has things that are unfavorable for Serbia", Garic pointed out.

He appealed to everyone not to raise excessive tension, not to fall into "hysteria" and not to make hasty conclusions.

"This is something that is expected. We knew that the pressure was enormous and that we would have to discuss their proposal. We need to see what awaits us and position ourselves accordingly, and at the same time do everything to preserve the safety of the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija," Garic said.

He noticed that one part of society criticized the state and President Aleksandar Vucic for "betraying Kosovo" by accepting the talks, while another part said that "Serbia's European path is in danger because nothing has been signed yet".

He pointed out that we were in a "strange moment", in which a realistic view of things was needed, but also more trust in the people who led the country and participated in the negotiations.

"President Vucic is the main negotiator, he knows everything. The Ambassador of Serbia to the US, Marko Djuric, made good results. It is very important to establish good relations with the US. The Government of Serbia had a huge job to raise Serbia, and Kosovo was neglected, a matter that could not be discussed. In the meantime, the issue of Kosovo was returned to the agenda, and this is thanks to the foreign policy of Serbia, Dacic, and Selakovic. These are the results of the Government of Serbia. A lot has been invested in the Serbian communities in Kosovo. A huge number of the Serbs support Aleksandar Vucic's policy," Garic said.

He also mentioned that the representatives of the US, Derek Chollet, and Ned Price indicated that Pristina had to form the CSM.

This, he adds, means that important things have changed - at least the perception of the US towards this issue, which gives hope that something positive can be expected.

He also said that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti immediately after the departure of EU special envoy, Miroslav Lajcak, from Pristina said that the CSM was not an obligation of Pristina, but only one of the agreements, and that something that was not in accordance with the Constitution of Kosovo could not be implemented, which returned the whole story to the beginning.

"The ball is in Pristina's court, that's why it is important that Serbia is prepared not to refuse to talk, even when the most difficult topics are at stake," Garic says.

When asked about the referendum, Garic said that we were far from it at the moment, as well as from the signing of the agreement.

He also noted that he did not expect the Assembly session to bring anything spectacular, because part of the opposition was using the subject of Kosovo to overthrow the government.

"And it is particularly ugly, the way certain political representatives are abusing Kosovo. The fact that we want to talk, even about such a proposal, that Vucic came out with the attitude that we have to talk with the EU, is a policy that can buy us time and postpone the deadlines for difficult decisions. Refusal to talk would put us in a dangerous situation," Garic said.

Nikola Burazer from the portal "European Western Balkans" said that the European proposal was not a final agreement, but an intermediate step in the dialogue that continued towards the final solution.

"Reducing it to a choice between the EU and Kosovo is wrong. Whatever Serbia does regarding Kosovo, Serbia will not have an open door to EU membership. Serbia has problems that are acute, and that is first and foremost the rule of law," he said.

He added that a referendum was not a good solution at the moment, because, as he said, "for a good referendum, you must have informed citizens who will not make decisions based on emotions and political convictions."

Nenad Radosavljevic from RTV Mir from Leposavic said that the CSM should provide conditions for normalizing the life of the Serbs, in that way they would manage many important areas for them.

Analyst, Ognjen Gogic, said that it was important to how this proposal would be interpreted by countries that had not recognized Kosovo.

"That then opens the path for Kosovo to NATO," Gogic added.

He also pointed out that in addition to the talks on the agreement, Serbia's diplomatic struggle to prevent Kosovo from joining NATO would continue.