Wilson: Vuciq preparing Serbia for difficult decisions about Kosovo

Atlantic Council Executive Vice Chairman Damon Wilson says Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vuciq, is preparing citizens for difficult decisions on the Kosovo issue, as he says the country is not easy days.

“I welcome President Vuciq's help in preparing Serbia for this process and for negotiations. A frank conversation with the public is most necessary both in Kosovo and Serbia, for the fact that there will be difficult decisions and compromises are necessary”, Wilson said, in an interview for the Voice of America.

Wilson said political courage and leadership are necessary for people to focus on the future.

I'm impressed with this, and I hope this is only part of the public's preparation process for certain decisions. A citizens who are able to see what will happen and what this means to their country for five, 10, 20, 30 years. This is what's happening now, preparing the public to realize that this is really good for these” states, Wilson said.

He said the agreement between Kosovo and Serbia should be clear and remove obstacles for Serbia to be part of the European Union, as well as for Kosovo to join international organisations.

And what we're talking about is that the boundaries in the region should be less important and I think that this agreement can speed up this, but both sides have to agree on that, and we're not going to dictate that. The Atlantic Council is watching and monitoring all of this, but neither the United States of America nor the European Union will dictate anything,” said Wilson.

The Atlantic Council, 29 July, held a virtual summit with Western Balkan countries. At this summit, leaders of six Western Balkan countries agreed to accelerate the free movement of goods, services, capital and people in the region.

They pledged that they would eliminate barriers that have hampered economic growth, and agreed to pursue a plan to attract foreign direct investments to the region, especially now when the economies of these countries are facing the consequences caused by the coronary pandemic.

Meanwhile, after 20 months of interruption, dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia resumed on 16 July.

With the European Union's mediation in Brussels, Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti and Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vuciq, met and said they have talked about the issue of the missing and economic issues.