BELGRADE (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th February, 2020) The Serbian government official in charge of Kosovo has dismissed the agenda of the region's new cabinet as a provocation that threatens the Balkans, in a comment to Sputnik on Tuesday.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, which Belgrade does not recognize. The breakaway province voted in a new government on Monday headed by Prime Minister Albin Kurti, who vowed to take a hard line on Serbia.
"The program of the interim administration's new government in Pristina is blatantly provocative and poses a threat to regional peace. This 'cabinet' does not have a commonsense approach to any of major issues that could lead to normalization between Belgrade and Pristina," Marko Duric said.
Kurti has promised to sue Serbia over the 1998-1999 war reparations, introduce a three-month-long military conscription and keep tariffs on Serbian imports in place.
Brussels-backed talks between Belgrade and Pristina broke off in 2018 after Kosovo hiked duties on Serbian goods by 100 percent. The European Union, which both nations aspire to join, has repeatedly demanded that Kosovo lift the tax.
