Does Brussels have any new “ilac” for old Kosovo-Serbia problems

When he took over the post of special representative for dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina and other open issues in the Western Balkans, Miroslav Lajcak said in the spring that the finalisation of negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo is “months, not years”.

Such optimism, but above all the significant career of the experienced Slovak diplomat, fostered hope not only at a new beginning but also in another dynamic dialogue, which was blocked after almost ten years of negotiations under EU auspices. Dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina resumed with the meeting of leaders of Serbia and Kosovo in mid-July of this year, and three rounds of expert-level talks that followed in Brussels in a short period of time. However, after the initial momentum, the third round of talks on the expert level showed that dialogue for normalisation between Belgrade and Pristina continues to suffer from the same problems.

Bilateral charges

Bilateral charges and conflicting statements from both sides continued, and the EU, as the main mediator, is silent when it comes to determining the exact state of progress in the talks. The only thing leaders of the Belgrade and Pristina delegations agreed on, Marko Djuric and Skender Hyseni, after yesterday's (August 27th) meeting in Brussels, was that “talks were difficult” and that the other “pa is not constructive”.

“I am fed up with the lies discussed at our meetings concerning recognition of Kosovo or that there are no houses and apartments occupied in Kosovo and that there are no problems because our people cannot return to Kosovo. We need a constructive atmosphere and approach and not political speeches that do not lead to a concrete solution,” Djuric said.

While Skender Hyseni in a separate statement passed responsibility for “difficult conversations” and for Belgrade's obstacles, which he accused that “deliberately submits the process”. Serbia's “aims to extend the process and place questions on the negotiating table that have only one purpose, to delay the process to finally produce something we will not accept at all,<x> said Skender Hyseni.

Difficult Talks

The expert-level talks between Belgrade and Pristina are currently under way on three topics that opened at the meeting between Serbian President Aleksandar Vuciq and Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti in July -- the issue of the missing, displaced and economic relations. The Pristina delegation said Belgrade is delaying the process by going into technical details. Belgrade says these details are “of vital importance for people living in Kosovo” and that “ato will not be passed soon on behalf of “false political statements”. The Kosovo side insists that the resumed dialogue should not be returned to issues on which the “astom parties have been hired” or down to “technical level”, but the main goal is to reach mutual recognition between the two sides. For Serbia, even the mere mention of the word “mutual recognition” is “the adoption of the dialogue process” and “The public's input” on the part of Pristina.

When we asked the EU representative, as the main mediator in the dialogue, to explain to us that “about what is really being discussed” and “ci is the truth in the statements of both sides”, we received the same answer as the previous years: “no comment on the process, which is going on top of”. The diplomatic lines in Brussels state that during the negotiation process, it is necessary to give both sides the opportunity to “communicate with their public” adequately in terms of course and the results of negotiations and that negotiations cannot be fully “open to the public”. At the same time, the fact that former EU Foreign Minister Federica Moghrini followed the same principles during her five-year term as the main mediator in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, which eventually resulted in a subsidiary and block the whole process.

Are the EU and the US sincere or rival partners in dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo?

Although the special representative, Miroslav Lajcak, considers this round of talks among experts as “finalising topics initiated”, it appears the issue of the missing and displaced will be returned to the negotiating table on September 7th, when another meeting of Serbia's and Kosovo leaders is scheduled to open up new topics. Delegations will come to this meeting in Brussels directly from Washington, where a meeting with American mediators is scheduled for September 4th. Although President Donald Trump's special envoy, Richard Green, announced that economic “” on the White House will be discussed on economic issues the Serbian delegation could not answer the DW's question about where these are different from the “economic relations issues that Belgrade and Pristina discussed during the dialogue in Brussels. For the same question, the EU representative in his response said only that “all initiatives supporting dialogue in which the EU is the main mediator are welcome”.

“For the EU in the United States is an important partner with whom we share the same goals in the region. We are in frequent contacts that we don't want to comment on, ” said EU spokeswoman Nabila Masrali. Well if Brussels and Washington are sincere partners who work with such co-ordination when it comes to achieving a comprehensive normalisation of relations between Belgrade and Pristina, as they all hope in the months and not the years to come. / DW