Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said on Tuesday that in his opinion he would never be president in Pristina but that the Kosovo president would never be president in Kosovska Mitrovica either and that Serbia and Kosovo would have to "respect reality" and negotiate.
Nikolic stressed that negotiations and talks would not give results if Belgrade and Pristina remained miles apart.
"We will have to sit down and try to bring our positions together and even if both sides are not satisfied with what has been agreed, reality must be respected. I think I will not be president in Pristina ever again but I also think that the president of interim institutions in Kosovo and Metohija will never be president in Kosovska Mitrovica," Nikolic said.
He added that Serbia needed to reach a consensus about Kosovo.
Serbs in northern Kosovo do not recognise Kosovo authorities. The Ibar river, which divides Kosovska Mitrovica to the northern Serb-populated part and the southern, predominantly Albanian part, is considered a symbolic demarcation line.
The two countries launched dialogue in March 2011 after the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted the Kosovo Resolution on 9 September 2010.
