Kosovo FM Awaits Belgrade's Approval to Visit Serbia

Marko Djuric, the head of Serbia's Office for Kosovo, said Serbia would react "responsibly and with dignity" to a Kosovo Foreign Minister Behgjet Pacolli's request to attend an event in Serbia.

"They expect us to react inappropriately or with force ... [but] we will protect the dignity of Serbs and all other citizens of Serbia and won't allow anyone to rampage on our territory," Djuric told the Serbian national broadcaster, RTS, on Thursday.

Serbia's Bosniak National Council, which represents Serbia's Bosniak minority, has invited Kosovo Foreign Minister Behgjet Pacolli to visit Serbia's southwest Sandzak region - the heartland of the Bosniak community in the country - on July 21 and 22.

The invitation, published by the north Kosovo-based media outlet Kossev, refers to Pacolli as "Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Republic of Kosovo," which might well irritate the Serbian authorities, which do not recognise Kosovo's independence. Some Serbian tabloids called the invitation a "provocation".

Djuric himself was arrested by the Kosovo authorities in March and deported to Serbia after he entered Kosovo despite Pristina's refusal to grant him permission to do so. The move increased tensions between the two countries.

Pacolli's office confirmed to BIRN that they had submitted a request for permission for him to enter Serbia on Tuesday.

"We made a request yesterday, but we don't have any answer yet," a spokesperson told BIRN on Wednesday.

While arrests and deportations make front-page news in both countries, in reality, officials from Serbia and Kosovo make frequent visits to each other's countries.

Kosovo and Serbian officials have made hundreds of such visits in the last four years, according to a report...