DASH: Talks on the CBK regulation should continue urgently

2024-02-28 08:49:00, Aktualitet CNA

The US Department of State (DASH) said that talks in Brussels on the regulation of the Central Bank of Kosovo (CBK), which prohibits the use of the Serbian dinar in Kosovo, "must continue urgently".

"The dialogue mediated by the European Union is the right channel for solving the issues related to the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia", said a DASH spokesperson, after being asked by Radio Free Europe to comment on the talks that were held on Tuesday on the matter of regulation.

Their mediator, the EU envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajçak, said that many political questions about the issue of the Serbian dinar in Kosovo remained unanswered, therefore "additional meetings are needed".

The governor of CBK, Ahmet Ismaili, who led the Kosovo delegation, said that the regulation was not discussed, but about the possibilities it offers for the transfer of funds from other countries to Kosovo.

The delegation of Serbia was led by chief negotiator Petar Petkovic, who said that the CBK regulation requires a solution at the political level. The talks followed the strengthening of this regulation, which defines the euro as the only currency that can be used for ready payments in Kosovo.

But the regulation prompted angry reactions from official Belgrade, which financially supports the Serbian community in Kosovo.

The international community also expressed concerns about its impact on the lives of Serbian citizens and demanded its suspension. The assistant of the US Secretary of State, James O'Brien, said that the decision on the dinar has called into question Kosovo-US relations.

"The United States has been clear in expressing concerns about the new regulation," DASH's spokesperson told REL.

He said that he repeats the calls for Kosovo and Serbia to reduce tensions and engage "seriously and urgently", in an effort "to achieve a peaceful and productive relationship within the dialogue facilitated by the EU". The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, insists that the CBK's decision cannot be annulled. According to him, the regulation does not prohibit payments from the budget of Serbia, but that they must be made in euros.

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, says that Kurt's goal is "the ethnic cleansing of the Serbian people from Kosovo"./ Rel