USA: Kosovo and Serbia take seriously the obligations from the Ohrid agreement

2023-09-13 20:24:19, Kosova & Bota CNA

The United States asks Kosovo and Serbia to take seriously their obligations arising from the agreement on the normalization of relations.

A spokesman for the American Embassy in Pristina told Radio Free Europe that among the obligations is also the establishment of the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority.

"We ask Kosovo and Serbia to take seriously their obligations arising from the Normalization Agreement, which they reached earlier this year, and to start moving forward in the existing and previous obligations of the dialogue and the Agreement of Ohrid, including the establishment of the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority," said the spokesperson of the American Embassy.

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, and the President of Serbia, Aleksandër Vucic, will meet in Brussels on September 14, as part of the dialogue for the normalization of relations.

The embassy said that the US continues to "strongly support the dialogue mediated by the EU as a way to achieve peaceful and productive relations between Kosovo and Serbia".

According to the announced agenda, Kurti and Vucic will discuss the implementation of the Agreement towards the normalization of relations, but also current issues.

Kosovo and Serbia reached this agreement in February in Brussels, while in March in Ohrid they agreed on the annex for its implementation.

The 11-article agreement does not include the mutual recognition that Kosovo insists on, but requires Kosovo and Serbia to accept each other's documents and symbols, including: passports, diplomas and license plates.

The meeting on September 14 will be the eighth between Kurti and Vucic. In the past seven meetings, they have not signed any agreement, including the one on normalization in February, which was reached only verbally.

"Constructive engagement and efforts in good faith from Kosovo and Serbia will bring lasting benefits to citizens, including economic growth and will ensure long-term regional stability," said the spokesperson of the American Embassy.

A few days before the Brussels meeting, Kurti talked with the US envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Esocobar, "about the importance of the rapid and complete implementation of the Basic Agreement and its Annex".

Meanwhile, in an interview for the Voice of America, Escobar said on September 13 that he had not received any commitment from Kurti for the implementation of this agreement./ REL