Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric announced on Radio Belgrade on Wednesday that Serbia and Albania reached an agreement in principle to open consular offices in Shkodra and Bujanovac.
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs Ditmir Bushati reacted to the news, writing in a post on social media that such a decision is wrong in the strategic plan, while adding that the weight of the Serbian minority in the area is very small.
"I hope that the news given by the Serbian Foreign Minister and the alleged agreement with the Albanian counterpart to open the Serbian Consulate in Shkodra is not true."
In the strategic plan it would be wrong. A Serbian consulate in Shkodra does not reflect the historical reality, the weight of the Serbian minority in the area, and unfairly places equal signs with the Albanians living in the Presevo Valley.
"It would be equally wrong on a tactical level, as the language of senior Serbian officials is at the height of extremism in relation to ethnic cleansing in Kosovo. And a slap in the face to Montenegro, when it is known that Serbia has not given up on assimilation practices towards the Montenegrin minority living in Albania," he writes.