KASI for Kosovo's EC application and Vuciqi's response: Kosovo defines its priorities in foreign policy

“Kosovo and Serbia are sovereign countries that have the right to set their foreign policy priorities”, a State Department spokesman said in a written response to the Voice of America, referring to Serbian President Aleksandar Vuciq's statement that Kosovo has violated the Washington Treaty. joining the Council of Europe.

With the agreement signed in September 2020, Serbia and Kosovo engaged in separate documents for economic co-operation, but also co-operation with the United States. Part of the deal was a one-year rhetoric to Kosovo not applying for membership in international organisations and Serbia to refrain from a diplomatic campaign to attract recognition of Kosovo's independence. Moratorium expired on September 4, 2021.

The “oratorium was designed to expand the space for conversation and compromise between Kosovo and Serbia, which we believe is in the strategic interest of the two countries,”, said the response by the State Department for VOA.

“We continue to believe that dialogue for normalisation of relations, under the auspices of the European Union, is crucial for both countries to unblock their European future. We call for their urgent, flexible and serious participation in this” process.

Last September, on the eve of the anniversary of the Washington Agreement, the State Department directly encouraged Kosovo and Serbia to continue the moratorium on issues that could complicate progress in technical areas.

After Kosovo Foreign Minister Donika Grovalla submitted the official application for Kosovo's membership to the Council of Europe, Vuciq told reporters in Belgrade on Thursday that Pristina had “brutally violated” Washington's agreement.

“After nearly ten years of overcoming the Brussels Agreement, they have now violated Washington's agreement, while neither they nor their mentors have ever respected Resolution 1244”, the president of Serbia has said.

We remember that Washington's agreement was signed after two days of talks between top representatives of Kosovo and Serbia's delegations in the American capital on September 3rd and 4th 2020, during President Donald Trump's administration.

The agreement was mediated by Trump's envoy for dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo, Richard Green, who stopped in economic co-operation between the two sides, convinced that improving the economic situation and the standard of living would facilitate later political solutions.

The Beden administration has accepted obligations from Washington's agreement, which was confirmed several times last year by US Ambassador to Kosovo Philip Cosnet.

During a recent visit to the region, Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia Karen Donfried spoke with President Vucic, including the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue. As it was announced, they agreed that open issues in the dialogue could be resolved under EU auspices to reach compromise solutions.