BELGRADE, March 14 (Xinhua) -- The United States support the formation of so-called "Kosovo army" based on their recognition of illegitimate independence of Kosovo, and this will bring no stability to anyone in the Western Balkans, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Wednesday.
The statement was made after Vucic met with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Wess Mitchell.
Mitchell arrived in Belgrade on Tuesday after visiting Pristina and Skopje at the beginning of his Balkans tour.
At a press conference after the meeting, Vucic said that Serbia wishes to improve relations with the United States, especially when it comes to investments and trade.
But, Serbia "cannot remain silent about its different position" when it comes to the relation towards the Serbian breakaway province of Kosovo and Metohija, which unilaterally declared independence in 2008, with the support of the United States and its Western allies, Vucic said.
He said although Serbia and the United States agree it is necessary to maintain peace between Belgrade and Pristina, as well as to continue European Union-mediated dialogues between them, they disagree over the long-term plan for the formation of the so-called "Kosovo army".
Vucic said that the formation of any security forces in Kosovo would be against the 1999 Kumanovo Agreement that ended NATO bombing campaign spearheaded by the United States, as well as of the resolution 1244 of the United Nations Security Council.
Mitchell said that Serbia is "the foundation" of the Balkan region and that U.S. supports its EU integration, as well as EU mediated-dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.
He said that there is a new space to resolve burning issues in the region that have been holding back Balkans for decades, most important of which is the normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo.
"I always repeated the long term position of the Unites States when it comes to security in Kosovo -- we support Kosovo and its right to have professional security forces that would also include Kosovo Serbs," Mitchell said.
Vucic stated that the Kosovo issue is currently the biggest obstacle to Serbia's EU path. Serbia is ready to talk about compromises, but it "will not accept the humiliation of its people and the destruction of its country."
