Heusgen hopes that progress will be made in Munich regarding Kosovo

Reaching a compromise between Kosovo and Serbia is symmetry and necessary, Christoph Heusgen, president of the Munich Conference, said in an interview for the DW in Berlin. Heusgen concrete that the Brussels Accords must now be implemented, and especially the agreement on the Association of Serbian municipalities. It is more urgent than ever that we find a solution”, he said. “We now hope at the Munich Security Conference, where we have representatives of Kosovo, where we have representatives of Serbia, where we have representatives even of countries that are helping to make progress. I believe what matters now is carefully implementing the Brussels agreements, which have been made in the past. In my opinion, it is especially important to establish the Association of Serbian municipalities in Kosovo”, Heusgen said.

He recalled further that “at the Munich Security Conference we had on a panel both President Vucic and President Thaci, and I want it to happen in the future. And to agree on questions that, in my opinion, are not fundamental questions, and to make progress in the Western Balkans, progress, which is very necessary at this time, when we face other dangers”, said Heusgen.

This year's Security Conference in Munich, which begins work Friday, February 17th, on the day of Kosovo's declaration of independence, will be the first to take place under the chairmanship of former German Ambassador to the UN and former foreign policy adviser Angela Merkel Christoph Heusgen. Heusgen thus received staff from another Balkan region connoisseur, Wolfgang Ischinger

The conference is a platform for exchange of thoughts among leaders of different countries in the world on current global policy issues. This year, some 40 heads of state and government are expected to come to the capital of Bravaria in southern Germany, as well as about 100 senior ministers and officials from different parts of the world. But there are also many representatives of parliaments, experts, young people and diplomats at the conference.

The conference programme has not yet been made public, but according to the list published on the Conference page, Serbia is represented only by European Minister Tanja Miscevic, while Kosovo by President Vjosa Osmani, Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Foreign Minister Donika Grovalla-Schwarz. The Western Balkans is among the ten main tasks of the so-called Transatlantic Task List, which defined the leaders of 40 different states at the conference leaders' summit, which was held in May 2022 in Washington.

Ukraine Focused

But the main focus is undoubtedly Ukraine and military assistance for its protection from the Russian aggressor. For the organiser of Munich Conference, Heusgen, it is clear that Ukraine needs long support and that Russian President Vladimir Putin should not come out victorious: “We must make clear that if Putin wins this war, it is not finished with Ukraine. He and his foreign minister, a few weeks ago, said Moldova is next. And ask the Baltic countries they think Putin will turn against them if it succeeds. Therefore, we must be determined, we must continue to support Ukraine and make it clear to the citizens that this is something in the long term”, Heusgen said. / DW