Kosovo president rules out idea of ‘partition on ethnic lines’

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci ruled out on Tuesday partition of the territory with Serbia along ethnic lines, an idea reportedly raised in Belgrade, Reuters said. Thaci is due to meet Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Brussels after the summer break under an EU-sponsored dialogue which has made little progress in normalizing relations between Belgrade and Pristina since it was launched in 2013. Thaci dismissed suggestions that Kosovo, which has an ethnic Albanian majority, should be divided. Ethnic Serbs form a majority in northern Kosovo, refusing to recognize institutions in Pristina. Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic reportedly said he had discussed partition of Kosovo during a visit last week to the US. Belgrade has not recognized Kosovo’s independence.