The President of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, has reiterated his position that if any border changes are made in the Balkans, on an ethnic basis, this would end the war. According to him, the best solution would be for the region to join the European Union in the current borders.
Commenting on the recent "non-papers", Pahor said in an interview on KTV's Interaktiv that he completely rejects the idea of dividing borders on ethnic grounds, as stated in a "non-paper" which stated that came out of the Slovenian Prime Minister's office.
"Often in the last days and recently I have said that I am against the ideas that are presented in such documents that I do not support the change of borders at all and that I am much closer to the idea of expanding the EU and with these borders that exist. Even if someone naively thinks and starts talking about the borders in this region, he knows that it will not end peacefully, as we have the experience from this region that the borders change. And in this sense, I completely reject the idea of this 'non-paper'", he said.
Pahor said that the purpose of his visit to Kosovo was to exchange opinions before Monday's Summit in Brdo Brioni.
He said that for a long time there has not been such a great interest of the European Union and the international factor regarding the attitudes of the Balkan states.
"I would like to present the will of the states in the conclusions of this Summit and show confidence that we should continue with the expansion of the European Union in the countries of the Western Balkans. Of course, after fulfilling the required reforms, we want and in the not too distant future we want to see the region where it belongs, that is, as part of the European Union", he declared.
Regarding the issue of visa liberalization for Kosovo, Pahor said that such a thing would be good for the entire region.
Pahor has said that he sees the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue as a good opportunity to resolve all issues.
Regarding the process of dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Pahori stated that without the desire of both parties to solve the problem, there will be no results.
"As I told your president when I explained to her the case we had when I was the head of the government - that is, the problem with Croatia, I know that Kosovo and Serbia expect support from the Europeans. But the truth is that the leaders of both countries must find a solution. As a friend of the two nations - the Kosovo Albanians and the Serbs and the two states, I wish to find a political will to continue these difficult negotiations and in the end I hope that they will find a decision which will be a good compromise for both parties and it is understandable also for the European Union. But he cannot give a firm position on how this process would affect the leadership of the European Union for further promotion in terms of expansion", he further stated.
