Austria 'Will Not Oppose' Kosovo-Serbia Border Changes

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Tuesday during an official visit to Kosovo that Vienna will support any agreement that is reached between Pristina and Belgrade, even if it includes what Kosovo President Hashim Thaci has described as a 'border correction'.

"I have a clear stance - the federal government of Austria agrees with any agreement reached between Kosovo and Serbia. Nobody will be against that agreement," Kurz said during a joint press conference with Thaci.

"This is within the EU, whatever the agreement is, even if it is a border correction or something else, the agreement reached will have our support," Kurz added.

Kurz made a similar statement during his visit to Belgrade a day before travelling to Pristina.

"If there is an agreement that can bring peace, we will not impede that agreement, we will support it," he told media in the Serbian capital on Monday.

Last month, Thaci stated that a proposal for ethnic Albanian-populated regions of southern Serbia to join Kosovo would be one of the topics discussed at EU-mediated negotiations with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

After Thaci's suggestion that there could be a "border correction", Kosovo opposition parties proposed a resolution saying that no one has a mandate to negotiate over Kosovo's territory, but it could not attract enough votes to pass in parliament last week.

The idea has caused a serious clash between Thaci and Kosovo's Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj.

During a press conference with Haradinaj directly after the one with Thaci, Chancellor Kurz did not mention the 'border correction' issue.

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