BELGRADE, January 20. /TASS/. The conflict in Kosovo and Metohija cannot be resolved by freezing it, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Friday.

Vucic’s comment came following talks with EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Miroslav Lajcak, US Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Gabriel Escobar, Adviser to the French President Emmanuel Bonne, German Chancellor’s Foreign Policy Advisor Jens Plotner, and Diplomatic Advisor to the Italian Prime Minister Francesco Talo.

"Today, we had very difficult talks, probably the most difficult ones we have ever had, an open and serious discussion. What we all agree on is that the freezing of the conflict [in Kosovo] is not a solution, as when you have a frozen conflict it is just a matter of time until someone unfreezes it and when some irresponsible individuals wreck peace and stability in the entire Western Balkans," Vucic said.

According to Vucic, Western officials warned him about problems Serbia will face if it turns down their plan. He said he had asked Western representatives to help the country cope with the Kosovo problem and stressed that now "is the last minute to form the Community of Serb Municipalities, an agreement on which was signed ten years ago. Only after that, further talks are possible, he emphasized.

He also said that he plans to hold consultations with the government and other power bodies to discuss the plan offered by Western negotiators.

The situation in Kosovo was aggravated dramatically on December 6, when the Kosovo police along with EULEX (European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo) patrols began to seize premises housing electoral commissions in northern Kosovo and Metohija. Local Serbs repelled the Kosovars, who fled across the Ibar River. Two days later, on December 8, around 350 Kosovo policemen in armored cars intruded into the Serb-inhabited northern Kosovo and blocked the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica. On December 10, the Kosovo police detained Dejan Pantic, a former Serbian policeman, on dubious charges. In response, the Serb population erected barricades along a highway in several locations and took to the streets in protest.

On December 26, Kosovo’s armed forces were put on high alert. In response, President Vucic ordered that the country’s armed forces and interior troops be put on alert too. The situation was stabilized on December 28. And after the EU and the United States issued guarantees, Pristina began to release detained Serbs and barricades were dismantled.