‘Kosovo partition may solve historic dispute’

Bloomberg

Serbia should end its claim to all of Kosovo and seek to regain control of the northern part of the breakaway province where Serbs are in the majority, Deputy Premier Ivica Dacic said in an opinion piece published by Vecernje Novosti on Monday.
In his second such appeal in two weeks and echoing calls for a compromise by President Aleksandar Vucic, Dacic said time may be running out for a settlement amid a perceived threat that an “islamicized Kosovo” may merge with neighboring Albania to create a “Greater Albania.” He said he’s also concerned Turkey may try to wield its influence in the region that it once controlled.
“Everybody needs a lasting solution to the Serb-Albanian conflict, which can be achieved only through an agreement in which everybody wins and loses something,” Dacic wrote. A “compromise between historic and ethnic rights” would also include autonomy for Serb enclaves in southern Kosovo, Christian Orthodox monasteries in the mostly Muslim state and “financial compensation for usurped Serb property.”
Conflicting claims over Kosovo territory erupted in the 1998-99 war that ended with NATO bombing that drove Serb troops out of the province. Kosovo declared independence in 2008 with US backing and most European Union states. Serbia refuses to recognize Kosovo’s independence, but has participated in EU-mediated talks to normalize ties, a condition for its efforts to join the bloc.