Kosovo has no conditions for dialogue, but there are requirements

Such a request, Haradinaj, has particularly strengthened him after the Berlin Summit and the later meeting he held with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who, along with French President Emmanuel Macron, is seeking a greater role in dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.

According to the prime minister of Kosovo, a preliminary agreement, as he calls it, the framework, about what Kosovo and Serbia can find out and which would define the red lines of dialogue, would be important to be approved by international parties and mediators, from the start of future talks.

Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj's media adviser, at the same time, spokeswoman for the Government of Kosovo Donjet Gashi, told Radio Free Europe that what the prime minister has stressed is the correspondence of the dialogue process that, according to her, means Kosovo is ready for dialogue, but must be known what and where it will go with that process.

This term corruption that has been used by Prime Minister Haradinaj has to do with the fact that we, like Kosovo, and the international community as a facilitator of this dialogue, should have a form or platform on which it will be known what will be discussed, what specific agreements, then the time of dialogue and what is intended to be reached with it”, Gashi explains.

She said the Kosovo side does not have conditions for dialogue, but there are requirements.

“What is concrete, on each specific topic, how long this dialogue can last, and on what levels this dialogue is made, in the sense that if we get it for a final, legally binding agreement for both sides and that dates back to mutual recognition, then you'll specify it and when the parties sit down at the table to know exactly which topics will be discussed”, Gashi said.

Another element of importance, according to her, is setting the deadline for dialogue and agreement between the parties.

On the other hand, Life Krasniqi, connoisseur of the process of political dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia from the Democratic Institute of Kosovo, tells Radio Free Europe that congratulating dialogue means to know where and what to talk about. But, according to her, the parties in the process are still apart with their positions.

“We have had dialogue processes that have lasted eight years and we have come to the stage that general principles should be established, red lines should be established and both sides should be clear, and in this case the mediators, so the EU and supporters as EU member states, but also the US, to know who the epilogue of this” process is, Krasniqi said.

Taking into account the fact that the parties are far apart in their positions, Krasniqi believes there can be neither a co-ordination of dialogue, as Haradinaj is looking for.

“From political discurs, both Kosovo and Serbia's, we see that Serbia consistently seeks compromise and seeks to push ahead with the topic of exchange of territory, doing everything to sabotage the state of Kosovo with its destructive behaviour in the international arena, but also nationalist rhetoric that does not contribute at all to the spirit of normalisation. And Kosovo has very clear its demand, which is mutual recognition”, Krasniqi said.

Currently, the process of dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade, in the format led by the European Union, is blocked. Meanwhile, a new attempt to continue meetings is trying to be launched by Macron Merkel.

To continue dialogue in Brussels, Serbia has set the condition of tax removal for its goods on the part of Kosovo authorities.

But, authorities in Pristina have declared that the 100 per cent tax on Serbian goods does not present an obstacle to continuing dialogue, but the obstacle lies in Serbia's unwillingness to recognise Kosovo.

On the other hand, the United States of America has reaffirmed that it supports dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, facilitated by the European Union.

Senior American officials have said it is fundamental for the future of both countries, Serbia and Kosovo to find a way to normalise the reports.

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Palmer in an interview for Radio Free Europe has said that an agreement between Kosovo and Serbia ideally means mutual recognition and the opening of a path towards European integration for both countries.

He has stated that the Merkel Merkel Macron initiative does not represent the replacement of Brussels' dialogue, but efforts to resume the already blocked process.