At the 11th meeting held within the scope of the dialogue, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met separately with Borrell and EU Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak.
In his statement to the press before the meeting, Borrell said, “Normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia is at the heart of the EU’s engagement in the Western Balkans. The progress made in normalizing relations between the two countries is also tightly linked to the accession process.” said.
Emphasizing that the normalization agreement reached between the parties within the scope of the dialogue is important, Borrell said, “At a time when there is a war of unprecedented magnitude on our continent, reaching an agreement for peace, stability, and good neighborly relations is a landmark achievement.” he said.
Borrell, in his statement to reporters after his meetings with the leaders, expressed his regret that the agreement had not been implemented despite more than a year having passed, saying, “Both sides bear responsibility for not fulfilling their promises. The failure to implement the agreement is a great loss of opportunity for both sides.”
Kosovo did not want to sit at the same table with Serbia
Borrell emphasized that the EU has taken the necessary steps to advance the process, but that the realization of the normalization process depends on the desire of both parties to progress and said:
“The normalization process can only progress as quickly as the two sides move forward. Because this is about the normalization of relations between them. The EU, I, and the EU Special Representative (Lajcak) cannot achieve more normalization than Kosovo and Serbia. These two countries are the parties. “They have to normalize among themselves, not with us. Therefore, it is up to them to implement the normalization agreement.”
Acknowledging the difficulties in the talks, Borrell stated that Kosovo was not ready to participate in a tripartite meeting with Serbia, although Serbia was ready.
“We need to sit around the table to continue the dialogue. This was not possible today. Unfortunately, today there was no progress in the implementation of the agreement,” Borrell said. said.
3 conditions from Kosovo leader Kurti
Stating that Kosovo Prime Minister Kurti presented three conditions, Borrell stated that Serbia did not accept these conditions, citing constitutional restrictions.
“The positions of both parties are quite far apart on how to start the implementation of the agreement and how the normalization process will continue,” said Borrell, emphasizing that the EU plays a facilitating role, not a force that can impose normalization.
Kosovo Prime Minister Kurti, in his statement to the local press, stated that many things have changed since the last tripartite meeting and that he requested three conditions to be met in order to meet with Serbian leader Vucic in Brussels.
Kurti called for the signing of the agreement agreed between the two countries last year, the withdrawal of the letter sent by former Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic to the EU stating that they did not accept Kosovo’s independence, territorial integrity and membership in the UN, and the 24-year-old war in the north of Kosovo last year. He stated that he demanded that Milan Radoicic, who announced that he planned the Banjska Attack in September alone, be handed over to Kosovo institutions.
Serbian leader Vucic: “I do not see the same willingness on the other side”
Serbian leader Vucic also stated in his statement to his country’s press after the meetings in Brussels that Kurti did not want to meet with him.
Vucic stated that they are ready to compromise with Kosovo and said, “I do not see the same willingness on the other side.” said.
Arguing that Serbs in Kosovo are in a “difficult situation”, Vucic said that he insisted on the establishment of the Union of Serbian Municipalities in Kosovo in his meeting with EU officials.
Kosovo-Serbian dialogue process
It is stated that the main reason why the two countries frequently clash is that Serbia sees Kosovo, which declared its unilateral independence in 2008, as its own territory.
Kurti and Vucic reached an agreement on the agreement that will normalize relations in Brussels, under the mediation of the EU, on February 27, 2023, and the implementation annex of the agreement in Ohrid, North Macedonia, on March 18, 2023. The agreed upon agreement could not be put on paper because Vucic refused to sign it.
Within the scope of the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Process, which was initiated in 2011 under the mediation of the EU, a common path is sought for the normalization of relations and ultimately for the two countries to recognize each other.
The recent tensions in the north of Kosovo caused the process to be blocked.
