Kosovo, Serbia's chief negotiators meet next week

According to sources, November 16th is cited as the possible date for the meeting between Kosovo's chief negotiator, Besnik Bislimi, and Serbia's Petar Petkov.

The possibility of a meeting at the chief negotiator level this week had warned Serbian chief negotiator Petar Petkov, who had declared that the meeting would not, however, be held because it was rejected by Kosovo.

But this claims by Petkov have been denied by the European Union's special envoy for Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak.

In a written response to Radio Free Europe, Lajcak's office has specified that all meetings within dialogue are organised on dates that are appropriate for both sides and for meetings reported only after the parties confirm their participation.

Lajcak confirmed for The REL has had a preliminary idea on November 7th to meet the chief negotiators of Kosovo and Serbia.

Kosovo's “Pala has submitted a very valid and important request for the postponement of the meeting, which the EU facilitator has accepted. It is up to the EU facilitators to determine which demands and reasons offered by the parties regarding the organisation of the meetings are valid and important”, it was said in response.

Lajcak confirmed there is already a reconciliation between the parties for organising the next meeting, though in response REL doesn't mention dates. However, it is warned that the next steps in the normalisation process and implementation of the parties' obligations in the dialogue will be discussed at this meeting.

News of the new round of dialogue, at the top level of negotiators, comes as Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vuciq, held separate meetings with EU leaders France, Germany and Italy on 26 October in Brussels.

The leaders of France, Germany and Italy demanded that Kosovo form the Association of Serb majority municipalities and Serbia recognise Kosovo's de facto independence.

Kurti has declared that she has accepted a proposal for draft status for association, which the EU has described as a modern European model.

However, draft status has not been made public, but Prime Minister Kurti has said it has been written carefully towards the Kosovo Constitution. He has said the draft is envisioned to be sent for review to the Constitutional Court of Kosovo.

“Draft in my political assessment interrupts the non-recognition of the Republic of Kosovo, which was drawn up in the 2013 and 2015 agreements. So in my political judgment, the draft has a clarity as far as recognition of the Republic of Kosovo, as an independent state in which Serbs will live in accordance with the multiethnic aspirations of the Constitution and with no other damaging intent for the Republic in recognition of the sovereign state and our territorial integrity”, Kurti has declared during a report on dialogue before Kosovo deputies on November 3rd.

Lajcak earlier stated that the proposal is a modern European way of resolving the sensitive issue of minority protection in line with the best European standards “and does not violate the red lines put forward by the parties”.

He has added that it is not only the association that needs to be implemented, which is Kosovo's obligation, but also Serbia must implement all provisions of the Agreement on the road to normalisation of reports.

On February 27th, Kurti and Vucinic reached agreement towards normalisation. On March 18th, the parties agreed on the Annex to implement the agreement. However, the agreement has not been signed by the parties, as the Serbian president has refused, arguing that “Serbia is an internationally recognised state, while Kosovo is not”.

This agreement, of 11 provisions, envisions, among other things, a level of self-awareness for the Serb community in Kosovo and mutual recognition of state symbols, while calling on Pristina and Belgrade to implement, as well, all previous dialogue agreements.

Otherwise, Kosovo and Serbia have reached agreement on Association in 2013 and later 2015 on principles for its establishment.

But in 2015, the Constitutional Court of Kosovo has found that the agreement is not in full harmony with the Constitution.

Kosovo has so far refused to establish the Association of Serb majority municipalities, voicing fears it could violate state functionality. Serbia, meanwhile, insists on its establishment.