Avni Arifi conditions dialogue with Serbia

KA LLXO.com has secured this correspondence through its resources. The EU official's request to set the meeting time and a harsh response returned by Arifi about how the topics to be discussed are selected.

Arifi's main note is that he doubts Brussels is adapting to Belgrade's agenda by putting the Association of Serb-run municipalities as a priority, and dismissing implementation of the Energy Agreement.

In his response, Arifi does not confirm the application for the date and hour of the meeting while conditioning the participation of the Kosovo delegation with the implementation of all remaining agreements without implementation so far.

Arifi also disagrees with Bush's request that the team's co-ordinator for drafting the Status of Association... make a presentation of the work so far during the meeting required in Brussels. Arifi prefers that the co-ordinator first announces the job itself before this presentation goes to Brussels.

On 24 May, the European Union official has sent an official email to the chief of the Kosovo delegation in technical talks with Serbia, Avni Arifi, to announce the date and topics of the upcoming meeting within technical dialogue.

“Sic discussed over the phone, I would like to invite you for a summary meeting about the implementation remaining agreements reached in the dialogue. This meeting was to be held in Brussels on June 7th afternoon, as well as June 8th. The exact time of the start of the meeting on June 7th could be further discussed”, Busch wrote.

At this meeting, according to the EU official, the focus will be on agreements for the Association of Communities with the Serbian Majority, freedom of movement, integrated border management and energy.

“in this context, I would like the Managing Team to make a presentation on where they are with the drafting of the Association Statistics. The format will be limited, 3 additional individuals for chief negotiator (1+3). On the part of the Management Team, I would like to invite the co-ordinator (Vinka Radosavljevic) + 1. Please tell me if this is acceptable as soon as you can, ”, says Thomas Bush email.

Avni Arifi, in response to the EU official a day later, on May 25th, tells him he is “completely disappointed and offended” by his invitation while accusing him of anim from the Serbian delegation.

“This invitation proves that your role as the EU relief team for technical dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia has been transformed into the right hand for Serbia's delegation, serving Serbia's interests in creating their new agenda”, Avni Arifi has said in this response he has secured. KALLXO.com.

For months we have rightly insisted and requested your help in facilitating the implementation of the Energy Agreement and other pending agreements. However, you have largely ignored our constant and successive demands to focus on the energy issue, the cause of which has broken the entire continental (European) energy market, and which requires only two hours to resolve”, Arifi said.

And Ariph has mentioned several other events that have occurred in recent weeks.

Moreover, you have been silent when the daughters of the Kosovo handball team were terrorised and not allowed to play a sports match in Serbia. You have been silent when Serbia's authorities rejected the free movement of the Kosovo karate team in Serbia, for completely racist reasons. You have been silent when some Kosovars were kept at the border with Serbia for no reason, and (confronted) with discriminated behaviour”, Arifi said on this email.

Arifi, in this email, accuses the EU official to have been silent even when meetings about Integrated Border Management (IBM) have been cancelled and rejected on the part of Serbia and “what is worst, you have been silent when Serbia's state leaders publicly lied that they have implemented all agreements with Kosovo”.

“To make the job worse, Serbia's diplomatic offensive against Kosovo is becoming with much publicity by Serbia's officials, who proudly committed all international diplomatic power against the new recognitions of Kosovo and lobbie strongly in all states that have recognised Kosovo, to draw recognitions”, Arifi said.

This, according to Arifi, is against the principles and spirit of the Regional Co-operation Agreement reached within dialogue.

In this direction, Arifi has responded that the Kosovo side will participate in dialogue when all agreements have been implemented. In this direction, Arifi has cited agreements on energy, freedom of Movement, recognition of University diplomats, IBM, representation and Regional Co-operation, and the Mitrovica Bridge.

Arifi has not even agreed with the proposal that the management team for drafting the Association Statistics make presentations in Brussels.

Before making a presentation in Brussels or elsewhere, the management team must work with the O team The SEU and make the presentation before me”, Arifi said on this email.

For the purposes of clarification, as I have rightly mentioned at our last summary meeting in Brussels, our teams travel to Brussels to participate in technical meetings in order to facilitate implementation of all existing agreements, without keeping all the cause of one, as Serbia's delegation constantly does. I remind you of the Serbian delegation leader's statement: we are here to implement the Association Agreement. With this, basically, you're saying the same thing”, Avni Arifi's email to EU official Thomas Busch concludes.