The talks in Brussels between Kosovo and Serbia ended unsuccessfully

2023-07-21 08:52:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The chief negotiators of Kosovo and Serbia, Besnik Bislimi and Petar Petkovic, held separate meetings in Brussels with the European Union envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak. The purpose of the meeting, which lasted until the late hours of Wednesday, was the discussion of many issues for the reduction of tensions in the north of Kosovo, as well as the implementation of the Ohrid agreement for the normalization of relations, but there was no progress.

"We discussed a long list of dialogue issues, starting with the implementation of the February 27 Agreement and the extension to the north. The discussions will continue in the next period," Lajçak wrote on Twitter. He did not indicate why the tripartite meeting did not take place, but, according to Kosovo's chief negotiator, Besnik Bislimi, it was Mr. Lajçak's position that there should be no tripartite meeting.

"Such a meeting would not necessarily contribute to the finalization of the documents, because Lajcak thinks that there is still a need for additional coordination before this happens. There is even an idea that the sequencing plan, or the implementation of the agreement, requires a high-level meeting", said Bislimi, agreeing that the level of chief negotiators cannot complete this process successfully. tension of the state in the north, is selective.

Selective plan

"We think that that plan is selective, pays more attention to Serbia's demands and does not guarantee full implementation of the agreement. We have tried to put all the obligations that the parties receive from the basic agreement in a detailed sequencing plan in a trilateral meeting with the Serbian side. We have not been able to complete this mission, but we have improvement or moving forward," said Bislimi. The Kosovar chief negotiator expressed surprise as to why the European Union is not lifting measures against Kosovo, since the latter is already has taken the first steps.

"It is a surprise to us that even eight days after the agreement in Bratislava, we still do not have an explanatory letter from Mr. Borrell requesting the lifting of the measures by the European Commission. We cannot say that we have implemented all the measures because one of the measures is the holding of elections, but we have shown the path that leads to the normalization of the situation and the lack of this path has been the EU's pretext for imposing punitive measures," said Mr. Bislimi.

The draft calls for a reduction in tensions

The draft of the European Union that the mediator Lajçak has given to the parties requires that, in order to reduce tensions in the north, police operations should be suspended, Albanian mayors of municipalities should be moved to alternative offices and early elections should be announced with the unconditional participation of Kosovo Serbs.

The Government of Kosovo has already announced that it has reduced the police presence in municipal assembly buildings by 25%, paving the way for early elections.

Serbia's chief negotiator Petar Petkovic did not speak after the meeting in Brussels. But on the same day, the EU envoy Miroslav Lajcak met the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic. The latter continues to insist, as he says, "on the concrete steps aimed at protecting the lives of Serbs in Kosovo, as well as on the implementation of the agreements reached so far".

"I spoke with Miroslav Lajcak about the last round of technical talks between Belgrade and Pristina and ways to reduce tensions on the ground. Serbia continues to insist on concrete steps to protect the lives of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, as well as the implementation of the agreements reached so far," wrote Vu?i? on Instagram.

The Serbian president said that the situation in the north of Kosovo is increasingly becoming a security issue rather than a political issue. He said this during a meeting he held with NATO Secretary General Jens Stolteberg. The latter called on the parties to refrain from violent actions.

"It is more important that tensions are reduced and we call on the parties to refrain from actions and inflammatory rhetoric. The only way is dialogue facilitated by the European Union," said Jens Stoltenberg./DW