UN Secretary Wants More From Kosovo-Serbia Dialogue, Praises UNMIK

In addition, he added, long-term peace can be achieved with “sustainable progress” in normalising relations.

In a regular quarterly report on the work of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) for the period of 16 July through 15 October, Gutres said this mission was working to build confidence among communities in Kosovo.

He added that UNMIK will continue to support the goal of long-term peace and stability, and that, among other things, it is possible to achieve “sustainable progress” in normalising relations between Belgrade and Pristina.

Gutres said that implementation of the agreement has been postponed on several occasions since the signing of the Bilbao Treaty in 2013, adding that the high-level agreements make sense if they have broad support and action from both sides”.

He said UNMIK supports the European Union's efforts to manage dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina for years, adding that this UN mission is working for “building confidence among communities in Kosovo”, as he said, “directly contributes to the progress of political negotiations”.

In the report on normalisation of relations between Belgrade and Pristina, dialogue had reportedly reached the presidential level in the period from 16 July to 15 October, and that representatives of both sides “stressed the importance of moving dialogue towards major issues”, reports “92”, Perskopi.

“In this sense, Serbian President Aleksandar Vuciq has launched an internal dialogue on Kosovo in order to find a solution and announced that the outcome of this internal dialogue would determine the political relations between Serbia and Kosovo “, the report says.

Antonio Gutres also said Kosovo President Hashim Thaci said in July that it was time to start a new phase in dialogue “, which would lead to full normalisation between Belgrade and Pristina”.

UN Secretary-General Ibrahimi welcomed efforts by Kosovo institutions for “to preserve a peaceful environment during political uncertainty” following early parliamentary elections on June 11th.

Gutres called on political leaders in Kosovo to pay attention to public comments on mechanisms of international justice, especially when it comes to Kosovo's Special War Crimes Tribunal.

UN Secretary General Zahir Tanin and the mission in efforts to build confidence among communities and achieve long-term progress and stability in Kosovo, but also in the region./Periscopi/