Interview with Bishop Artemije of Kosovo

RT spoke to Bishop Raskoprizrenski Artemije of Kosovo, who is in Washington trying to persuade US politicians to reconsider their stance on Kosovo.

Artemije Radosavljevic told RT why Kosovo is so important to the Serbs and why he thinks last year's negotiations failed.

“My duty is to tell you that while something might be achieved by force, such an imposed solution would not be a real solution. It would not be permanent and it would not bring peace or stability to the region.

Kosovo is an inalienable part of Serbia, not just because there is a UN charter but because of hundreds of years of history. Kosovo is Serbia. Kosovo is the cradle of Serbian spirituality, Serbian culture and Serbian statehood. This is why Serbia will never recognise or accept an imposed solution.

If such a step is taken, it won't be anything other than the occupation of a part of the territory of Serbia. We know from history that there are no occupations which are permanent solutions.

Somebody, I’d say the US, promised independence to the Albanians before the negotiations started. That's why Kosovo Albanians haven't shown any readiness at all to reach a compromise during the negotiations. They just repeated that they are not going to accept anything less than independence.

It is time the US thought again and reconsidered its current policy towards Kosovo and made an effort to find a solution through negotiation,” he said.