Hartwell analysis: The association has blocked the dialogue, the Vucinciciciti can settle the dispute tomorrow, but he won't.

For the Serbian-language edition of Voice of America, Hartwell analysed the Balkan tour and stay in Pristina and Belgrade of Gabriel Escobar and Miroslav Lajcak, diplomats appointed by the United States and the European Union to monitor the situation and mediate in the region.

Hartwell stresses that the opinion has the wrong impression that forming the Association of Serb majority municipalities is the condition for resolving problems between Kosovo and Serbia.

“However, there is no evidence that this would contribute to the recognition of Kosovo's independence by Serbia”, he says. Hartwell adds that the European Union is enabling Serbian President Aleksandar Vuciq to leave Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti with the burden of dialogue.

So, Vuciq, as an excuse for the current dialogue blockade, has Kurti as uncooperative. I don't think it's useful and it's not the main cause of the brittle” said Hartwell.

He also understands that as long as the European Union blames Kosovo for the lack of progress in dialogue, public opinion is silent about Vuciqi's increasingly pronounced authoritarianism.

The “is also the accelerated militarism of Serbia, unconditional support for the Kremlin despite what happened in Georgia and Ukraine, but the unwillingness to condemn China for genocide against the water minority”, Hartwell said.

He believes Escobar and Lajcak's visits to Pristina and Belgrade will resume dialogue, but do not guarantee results.

“These visits will certainly resume dialogue, but some important results in the future are not guaranteed. However, progress will depend on the political will of the parties to end the dispute. I'm worried that middlemen have access to any conversation is better than when there is no. However, when the negotiating parties meet without apparent progress, it risks the credibility of the whole process. The European Union and the United States should focus on movements outside the negotiating table to help end the dispute between Serbia and Kosovo”, Hartwell says.

The Serbian president is the main reason for the stalemate in dialogue, he emphasises, adding the argument that how the head of the Serbian state could immediately complete this process.

The main key reason the dispute between Serbia and Kosovo is that President Aleksandar Vuciq is not willing to mobilise support for recognising Kosovo's sovereignty. Vuciq could end the dispute with Kosovo tomorrow if he is willing to do so, but he won't do so because he thinks he will benefit from it. He seems pleased with the current status quo”.

Despite the long list of open issues discussed in the dialogue, the dispute eventually descends to two fundamental issues: sovereignty and security that are closely linked. Serbia has an advantage because Kosovo does not have much to offer at the negotiating table. If Vuciq had mobilized the public to support Kosovo's recognition, it would have resolved both issues of sovereignty and security and opened the door for building strong relations between the two countries and their people”, says Hartwell.

He says around two-thirds of Serbs do not support recognition of Kosovo's independence, but emphasises that <x0 concentrations are not carved into stone”.

Serbia's “president may be hiding after lack of support in Serbia for recognising Kosovo's independence. On the other hand, it can play a transformative role and promote support for it. True leaders take bold steps to support a brighter future for their people”, the European policy expert points out.

He sees solid reasons in Kosovo's reluctance to establish association, meanwhile citing the fact that the Constitutional Court had found inconsistencies in that agreement with the Constitution. Hartwell emphasises that Prime Minister Kurti's government is dedicated to multicultural democracy and minority rights.

Hartwell doesn't see the final deal coming near.

I don't think it's useful that the EU and the US are putting more pressure on the parties to find a solution through dialogue. It seems that the dispute is not ready to be resolved at the moment. I think that beyond the negotiating table, we should work on resolving obstacles that hinder progress in the negotiations process between Kosovo and Serbia”, he stresses.

From the final agreement, Hartwell says citizens of both countries would benefit the most.