Belgrade: President Aleksandar Vucic said on national television Tuesday that Serbia has not accepted the European Union's proposal for "normalisation" of its relations with the breakaway province of Kosovo.
He continued to say that despite threats from Brussels, Belgrade continued to refuse to talk about Kosovo's recognition and UN membership.
His comments came a day after the EU's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, claimed on Twitter that Pristina and Belgrade supported a Franco-German plan for a "path to normalisation" of relations between Serbia and Kosovo.
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Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, later claimed that Vucic had refused to sign the agreement, despite having "agreed" to it.
However, Vucic claimed on Tuesday that the parties "did not agree", agreeing only to continue negotiations. Nothing has been signed in Brussels, he continued.
According to Vucic, Serbia is "ready to work on the implementation of many [points] of this plan," but it is still unwilling to talk about "mutual recognition" or UN membership of Kosovo.
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The president insisted that Serbia had not reached any "secret agreements", adding that "not a single agreement is hidden" and that they have "nothing to hide." Furthermore, Vucic described Borrell's claim as "very vague" and declared himself ready to talk about the "concept" of normalization.
Vucic vowed never to sign "formal or informal recognition of Kosovo" as long as he serves as President of Serbia. He also acknowledged that Brussels was increasing pressure on Belgrade and that if the plan was rejected, Serbia's integration into the EU would stall and EU investments would be frozen.
Germany-owned factories alone employ 80,000 people. He threatened a number of other actions, such as isolating Serbia from [the rest of] the world and making Serbia untouchable, according to Vucic.
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According to a plan published by the EU's External Action Service, Serbia and Kosovo "will develop normal, good-neighborly relations with each other on the basis of equal rights" and their communication will be guided by UN principles, including "equal rights on the basis of". Sovereign equality of all states."
Serbia must accept Kosovo's independence in order to become a member of the European Union, despite the fact that five other members - Spain, Slovakia, Cyprus, Greece and Romania - have not.