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Athens News Agency: News in English, 07-02-22
CONTENTS
[01] Kosovo negotiations process 'difficult'
[01] Kosovo negotiations process 'difficult'
Greece's foreign ministry spokesman George Koumoutsakos on Thursday
predicted that the negotiations process on the future status of Kosovo
would be "difficult", and reiterated Greece's position that the two
sides should "refrain from unilateral actions that will not contribute
to a positive climate in the negotiations", noting that the Greek side
has stressed at all the fora and to all the countries of the region
"the cruciality of protecting the historical and religious monuments",
on which a detailed proposal has been submitted.
"The negotiations process that began yesterday (Wednesday) in Kosovo is
expected to be a difficult one, given that the two sides are setting
out from completely different starting points," Koumoutsakos explained,
and, synopsising the positions of the two sides, said that "Belgrade
wants anything other than independence, while Pristina wants nothing
other than independence".
Asked during a regular press briefing to comment on "the Serbian
Orthodox Church's pressure on the international community for the
Ahtisaari Plan to not come to pass", Koumoutsakos said that "each of
the two sides -- Belgrade and Pristina -- wants to create a
negotiations atmosphere that benefits its own priorities. This also
holds true for the initiatives of the Serbian Church".
Regarding the recent violence against Serbs in Pristina and the
destruction of an Orthodox church, Koumoutsakos said that Greece has
stressed, both inside and outside the EU, that the two sides concerned
must refrain from unilateral actions, or from actions that could create
a non-positive atmosphere for the negotiation".
With respect to the protection of the historical and religious
monuments, Koumoutsakos recalled that the Greek foreign ministry "has
repeatedly put forward and stressed the cruciality of the issue during
all its meetings, both with Mr. Ahtisaar and with the countries of the
region, as well as with the two sides in the discussions we had in
Belgrade and Pristina".
In addition, he said, "on the part of the Greek side -- not formally by
the foreign ministry -- at the initial stages of the negotiation, a
research foundation had presented a very detailed proposal for the
protection of these sites, which was also conveyed to Mr. Ahtisaari and
has taken its course".
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