Acceleration of Belgrade-Pristina political rhetoric ahead of Berlin summit

Political leaders in Belgrade and Pristina are roughing our tone on charges and counter-accuses prior to the Berlin summit. The cause of contention becomes Recak's Massacre, which Vucik described as fiction by Albanians.

Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, there is no forecast of whether from the April 29th meeting in Berlin there will be any Kosovo-Serbia agreement, but, anyway, he sees this meeting very important for the country. Haradinaj said that this meeting, led by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, would be used to push the visa liberalisation issue forward.

It is an honor to represent Kosovo on behalf of Kosovo at this meeting. It's a big date, and it's good that this meeting will be led by Chancellor Merkel and President Macro. The April 29th meeting is an opportunity to move forward even with visa liberalisation”, Haradinaj said.

Conspiracy of political rhetoric

But prior to this meeting, where leaders of the Balkan region countries will participate, and where Kosovo-Serbia dialogue and the normalisation of relations, political rhetoric between Kosovo and those in Serbia will be exacerbated.

Kosovo's political leaders reacted strongly after a statement by Serbia's President Aleksandar Vuciq, who said it is true a statement by a Kosovo Serb minister Ivan Teodosijevic, fired by the Haradinaj government, where he said that the “section of Recak in Kosovo in 99 was the fiction of Albanians”.

For this statement by Vuciqi, Kosovo President Hashim Thaci, who called it an offensive statement for Kosovo, expressed a shocked statement.

“My concern is for these offensive statements coming from officials in Belgrade, denying at this time, massacres on innocent civilians made by Serb government forces in the years of HINA-99. Denying Recak and hundreds of other massacres, it is deeply disturbing and does not provide a signal for reconciliation”, President Thaci says in his response.

Even opposition political parties in Kosovo in proportion to these statements by officials in Belgrade are in line with President Thaci. The head of the LDK Parliamentary Group, Avdullah Hoti, says that “Kosovo dares not enter adventures for the comprehensive agreement with Serbia until this latter does not recognise the state of Kosovo”.

How can you negotiate with someone who calls the Recak massacre a factory? That is what the Serbian president has declared. That's like denying holocaust. We must be unique and seek strong response from all over the democratic world against these Belgrade statements. It is clear that it will take years and exchange of some governments in Belgrade before politicians there call conscience for crimes committed in Kosovo by the Serbian state of”, says Avdullah Hoti, adding that “only then Serbia can take the major step towards recognising the state of Kosovo and normalising relations.

EU seeks out of vicious circle

In recent months, especially since the end of Kosovo-Serbia dialogue and the taxing of Serbian goods, there has been a harsh tone between Pristina and Belgrade, on charges and against charges. Serbia says without taxing, it does not resume dialogue with Kosovo, while official Pristina says the tax can be lifted only when Serbia recognises Kosovo's independence.

And this situation is displeasing to EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn and the foreign ministers of EU member states. In a letter of exchange that are publishing media in Pristina, the European Union has reportedly demanded that Pristina and Belgrade exit the vicious circle and ban bilateral provocations”.

“Regional co-operation, peace and reconciliation depend on commitment that shows all sides, courage and political leadership. Unfortunately, what we have recently seen is the opposite of this, especially the anchor of action in recent months between Pristina and Belgrade, reacting with provocations against each other”, publish the media in Pristina, a piece of Johannes Hahn's letter.

Haradinaj criticises Mogher

The same line is expressed to the foreign affairs ministers of the member states of the seven most developed countries, the G7, at the three-day meeting held in France, where they invited Serbia and Kosovo to engage constructively in normalising relations through the legally integrated agreement.

There is no effective normalisation of the overall relationship between Serbia and Kosovo through the EU-mediated dialogue, and long-term stability in the region”. But, Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj continues to point his finger at the very European Union, the chief of European diplomacy, Federica Mogerini, for what he calls “the background of Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, respectively. EU officials in Pristina say the “tacks imposed on Serbian products have disappointed full implementation of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (MSA). But, Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj says the tax does not prevent dialogue, while EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Federika Moghrini, according to him, has caused trauma with discussions on exchange of “territories.

The European agenda has obstacles to implement. Yes, it's a big challenge for Commissioner Federica Moghrin, for the fact that she has avoided dialogue with the field exchange discussions, and has caused domestic political trauma and in the region. Unfortunately, part of my energy and government has gone to counter a topic like this,” has said Prime Minister Haradinaj at a conference in Pristina, where it talked about reforms in Kosovo and implementation of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (MSA). / DW/