Serbs Trade Accusations Over Deals with Kosovo

Borislav Stefanovic, Serbia's outgoing negotiator in talks with Kosovo, has called on the Progressives, the biggest party in the new government, to annul any agreements reached with Kosovo if they are deemed unsatisfactory.

He also challenged the new government to hold the former Kosovo negotiating team politically and criminally responsible for any misdeeds they uncover.

The Progressives were "incapable, undefined people who have no plan or programme and who are trying to find an alibi for the lack of their own political foundation and... are constantly throwing mud at the negotiating team,” he told Radio Free Europe.

Belgrade and Pristina started EU-mediated talks in Brussels in March 2011, three years after Kosovo declared independence, which Serbia refuses to recognise.

So far, the two sides have reached deals on freedom of movement, mutual recognition of university diplomas and on Kosovo's representation at regional meetings.

According to Stefanovic, the former team and the results they reached in negotiations will not be matched by anything that the Progressives come up with.

“We led our negotiations absolutely in accordance with the constitution and with the authorities given to us by parliament and the government - and we are yet to see their grand undertakings,” Stefanovic said.

The latest row follows a series of accusations from Serbia's new leaders, aimed at the outgoing negotiating team.

Serbia's President, Tomislav Nikolic, on Thursday again repeated the claim that key agreements reached with Pristina in Brussels had been kept from the public.

"With these seemingly innocuous solutions, Belgrade has done a lot to help seal Kosovo's independence," he claimed.

"For example, it was concealed that Kosovo's nameplate at [regional] gatherings does not have to include a footnote, only the name and an asterisk," he said, referring to details of the deal with Kosovo on its representation at regional summits.

"Another trick is the claim that Serbs in northern [Serb-run] Kosovo... do not have to change their license plates - but the condition for that is that they must register as citizens of Kosovo," Nikolic added, speaking to the daily newspaper, Vecernje Novosti.

Nikolic said the deals had been hastily hastily, with a view to the country getting EU candidate status before the deadline of the May general election.

Serbia officially obtained candidate status in March.

"When we [the new government] get to negotiating [on Kosovo's] status and are presented with a pile of documents that practically demonstrate an independent state, what are we going to do?" Nikolic asked, rhetorically.