Intensification of efforts for Kurti-Vucciq meeting

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti held a telephone conversation with the European Union's overloader for Kosovo- Serbia Miroslav Lajcak, promising him co-operation in the future. Kurt himself wrote on Twitter about the call, but he did not disclose any more details. ” Today I received a call from Miroslav Lajcak, who commended me for my new post as Prime Minister, wishing our government success. We expect our future cooperation”, Kurti wrote.

Lajcak: I have guarantees for dialogue

Lajcak's continued request to Kosovo's new prime minister is to continue dialogue with Serbia, though Albin Kurti has said he does not avoid dialogue with Serbia, but does not have his first priority of governing. Meanwhile, the European Union's special representative in the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, has said the first meeting between new Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbia's President Aleksandar Vuciq is expected to happen within weeks, Lajcak has said. I think we can wait for the first meeting very soon, without unnecessary delay. Kosovo, as we agreed with Albin Kurti, must end with the establishment of institutions. The president's election and the new team's preparation remain now. After that, we expect them to be willing. He has told me he is willing to come to Brussels to meet with President Aleksandar Vuciq. Vucin just told me he's willing to come whenever he gets a cold.”, Lajqak said.

The EU's charge for dialogue has been encouraged by the recent visit to Pristina and Belgrade, where, as he put it, “has received guarantees that leaders are willing to continue dialogue”. “During my last stay in Pristina and Belgrade, partners have confirmed that they know the importance of dialogue and that they are willing to continue with this process. Of course, dialogue is not only the process of normalising relations, but also the platform where other problems” are resolved, Lajcak says.

Kurti rejects Serb Majority Communist Association

Among the demands Serbia has consistently forwarded to the EU and Kosovo authorities is the founding of the Serb Major Assembly Association. In Belgrade's view, this association has executive competencies. But this is unacceptable to Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, who refuses to establish association with executive competencies. “Article 44 of the Kosovo Constitution guarantees freedom of association, but there is no need to negotiate something that we have guaranteed with the Constitution. We can't have one-ethnic association, it can be the character of the municipal Association, but not one-ethnic, says the Constitutional Court, in its ruling proclaimed on December 25th of 2015.” Kosovo's prime minister expressed this statement in a discussion on dialogue, organised by the Open Society Foundation.

Following that was immediate reaction by Serbian President Alexander Vuciq. Serbia will not stand by in terms of Pristina's statements against the majority Serbian Communists Association”, Vuciq said. “Even today, when they threaten to form “Greater Albania” and say there is nothing from the Association of Serbian Communists, we are saying that we are not as weak as we have been”, the media in Serbia quoted Vucijna as adding that Pristina should not threaten. “I just ask them not to threaten us and not think that Serbia has been broken and that it will not know how to respond”, Vuciq has said.

End of dialogue?

Reactions have also been made by Serbian Ambassador to Washington and former director of the Office for Kosovo in Serbia's government, Marko Djuric. According to him, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti announced the conclusion of dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, with statements that he does not even want to discuss forming the majority Serbian Commission Association. “Albin Kurti is slaughtering the region in his first days in office. He neither wants to discuss forming the Association of Serbian municipalities, a legally binding obligation of Kosovo, signed, ratified and guaranteed internationally, Kurti has actually announced the outcome of dialogue in the worst manner”, Djuric wrote on Twitter.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has repeatedly reiterated how regarding dialogue with Serbia he does not avoid it, but initially wants to dialogue with Kosovo Serbs and later with Belgrade. Political analyst Blerim Burjani thinks, that this form of dialogue can extend the final Kosovo-Serbia agreement. The internal dialogue with the Serb minority delays the solution. Kurti must admit that normalisation of the reports is a priority because it belongs to peace, regional and international stability and lasting peace is always an international priority, so leaving the international priority of this world order is not useful and damaging this”, says DW Blerim Burjan.

Clear calls for Kosovo's prime minister for engagement in dialogue with Serbia come from the international community. The last request was due to the debate in the European Parliament, where it approved the Kosovo report to rapporteur Violet von Cremon, where, among other things, Kosovo's new government is called on to engage in dialogue with Serbia. The new government must engage for dialogue. We have seen in the past weeks and months progress has been made and we would like this process to continue in the coming weeks and months. Dialogue is the prerequisite for the road to the EU”, said Violet von Cromon. / DW