Belgrade is deeply worried about demands over northern Kosovo that German Chancellor Angela Merkel might make during her upcoming visit to Serbia, Belgrade media said Wednesday, according to dpa. Previewing Merkel's first-ever visit to Serbia, the daily newspaper Blic, citing several unnamed sources, said "she is coming with the demand that the situation in northern Kosovo be normalized." Serbia's largest daily added, "among Belgrade officialdom there is a fear that normalization means putting customs and the courts under Pristina's control." And, if Serbia rejects this position, then Merkel would tell Belgrade that it could be confronted with a check on further steps in its accession talks with the European Union, Blic said. However, from Berlin, Merkel's spokesman discounted the concerns, saying Merkel's travels were not grounds for worry, but "an expression of our interest in this land taking a positive direction." Merkel is to arrive in the Croatian capital Zagreb on Monday, travelling on to Belgrade in the evening and staying overnight, her spokesman Steffen Seibert said. He pushed back against perceptions that she would demand Belgrade back down over north Kosovo, but added that he could not speak in advance about the substance of the planned talks. -- SPA
