Hashim Thaci, Kosovo's President, said on Tuesday the time had come for reaching a peace agreement between Belgrade and Pristina, the FoNet news agency reported.

He told Kosovo’s RTK2 television that such a deal would open Euro-Atlantic perspectives to both Kosovo and Serbia, adding it did not mean the division or territory swap.

Thaci has for some time insisted on including the border correction into the agenda of the Belgrade – Pristina talks facilitated by the European Union. The dialogue is currently on hold.

In his opinion that would mean the annexation of Serbia’s southern region of Sandzak, mostly populated by the ethnic Albanians.

However, he did not mention what, if anything, Serbia should get in return.

Belgrade rejects the idea, with Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic saying on Monday that his policy for Kosovo had suffered a defeat.

He blamed the Serbs because, as he put it, they “prefer crying over something that is far away than having something to hold.”

“The first round goes to the Serbia which cries, not the Serbia which wins,” Vucic told his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) top officials meeting.

On the other hand, Thaci sounded more optimistic, saying he would discuss the Belgrade – Pristina dialogue with the world’s leaders during the UN General Assembly held in New York, adding his visit to the US was essential for the strengthening of Kosovo’s position on the international scene and its membership to the international organisations, particularly to the Interpol.

Vucic refused to go to New York, “because of an avalanche of attacks on him from the moment that Serbia started its struggle for a compromise solution” on Kosovo, his ally said last Thursday.

Instead, the Prime Minister Ana Brnabic heads the Belgrade delegation.

Follow N1 via mobile apps for Android | iPhone/iPad | Windows| and social media on Twitter | Facebook.