Albanian representatives of Serbia’s Presevo Valley at Kosovo President Hashim Thaci’s office on Monday. Photo: Atdhe Mulla

The head of the Kosovo Liberation Army War Veterans’ Organisation, Hysni Gucati, told Kosova Press news agency on Tuesday that former KLA guerrillas agree that the Albanian-majority Presevo Valley area of Serbia should become part of Kosovo, but that they oppose giving any land to Serbia in return.

“We are for Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovc joining Kosovo, but we are not for giving territory to anyone,” Gucati said.

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci has been suggesting the idea of what he has called a “border correction” in negotiations with Serbia, and has proposed bringing to the negotiating table the demand from ethnic Albanians in the Presevo Valley of southern Serbia to join Kosovo.

Gucati said however that KLA veterans are not sure what a “border correction” actually means.

“We are very much interested in a correction, but which part should be corrected?” Gucati asked.

After Thaci’s statement that he will insist that the Presevo Valley issue is raised in Brussels during negotiations with Serbia, ethnic Albanian representatives from the region met him on Monday in Pristina.

After the meeting, they asked for political parties to in Kosovo to pass a resolution supporting their demand to become part of Kosovo.

But Ilir Deda, an MP from the opposition Alternative party, said that there was “no resolution request from the Presevo Valley to unite with Kosovo” and accused Thaci of using Serbia’s Albanians for his own purposes.

He also said that the Albanians from the Presevo Valley should not get involved in the current political battle in Kosovo over the negotiations with Serbia “because they will not gain anything from it”.

Isa Mustafa, leader of the opposition Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, said after meeting the delegation of Albanian representatives from the Presevo Valley that the border correction idea was dangerous for Kosovo.

“Border correction at a time when Serbia does not recognise Kosovo’s current borders and the opening up of the issue of territorial integrity are not only in conflict to the constitution of Kosovo and the declaration of independence, but also risk putting the statehood of Kosovo on the table,” Mustafa said.

The chief of the LDK’s parliamentary group, Avdullah Hoti, said the party will not vote for a resolution that violates the constitution.

“With all due respect for the Albanians of the [Presevo] valley, such a resolution is anti-constitutional. Therefore we will not vote for it, unless there is the will to change the constitution,” Hoti said.

Point 3 of article 1 of Kosovo’s constitution says that “the Republic of Kosovo shall have no territorial claims against, and shall seek no union with, any state or part of any state”.

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