Ashton: I was uncertain until it was signed
24/04/2013 00:00
Protest in front of the Albanian Parliament against the new budget ends prematurely 19/11 21:20
Baroness Catherine Ashton congratulated the Prime Ministers of Kosovo
and Serbia for the courage shown for signing the historic agreement that
will normalize the relations between the two countries.
“I wasn’t sure if they would reach an agreement, until they signed it”, Ashton declared for BBC.
The Baroness mediated the negotiations between the two Prime Ministers for 10 dialogue rounds.
The agreement reached this Friday does not mean that Serbia recognizes Kosovo’s independence, but it recognizes the authority of the government of Prishtina in the entire territory, including the north. There are 50.000 Serbs who live in this part of the Kosovan territory, where there have been sporadic cases of violence since the end of the war of 1999.
The agreement text gives the Kosovo Serbs its representatives in the police and justice system, but controlled by the Kosovo system. Some details are not finalized yet. This includes the energy and telephone network issues.
“I have heard the word ‘historic’ being used these days, and maybe it is really like that, keeping in mind the past of these countries”, Ashton declared.
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