Kurt wants the West not to pressure the Association

Kurti, during an Associated Press interview, said instead the West should focus on making Serbia more democratic and moving -- what he called the hegemonic idea of Belgrade.

Kosovo Prime Minister said the Serbian government should accept the independence of all former Yugoslav republics so that “faces the past”. He stressed that Belgrade should lean more towards the European Union and NATO, not towards Russia.

Kurti said that if they rid themselves of the idea that Kosovo still belongs to Serbia, “a would be more democratic, more European”.

In recent weeks, envoys from the United States and the EU have visited Pristina and Belgrade to encourage the parties to accept a new proposal called European proposal for the two states to normalise reports and accelerate their travel towards the EU.

Dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, under EU mediation, has started in 2011, but only some of the 33 agreements reached have been implemented so far.

Kurti said that until now the negotiations are “ideology for solving the problem... every solution has become more complicated, even more unmet, and the public lost interest”. He said the European proposal “is a good framework and platform to move forward.... which makes us hope in terms of prospects for future talks and for a” deal.

The European plan either known as the Franco-German proposal has not been made public.

The US has increased pressure on Pristina to implement agreements reached for Association in 2013 and 2015.

The Constitutional Court of Kosovo in 2015 said some provisions of the agreement were not in harmony with the Constitution, but that it can be harmonised.

Kurti said establishing association is not his priority, but last week he unveiled some conditions for him, including that association be part of an agreement to normalise reports and apply after mutual recognition.

Authorities in Kosovo have expressed fears that the association would undermine Kosovo's citizenship.

Western powers should learn from the example of Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina, expressing fears that an association would create a mini-state in Kosovo, Kurti said, adding that Belgrade has used the issue of establishing association as “arms against our independence”.

If we present in the Western Balkans the idea of an ethnic-based community association, this will be a recipe for new conflicts”, Kurti said.

Kurti said Western powers should not pressure smaller states, such as Kosovo, which are democratic. Problems between Kosovo and Serbia may be small and annoying, but they must pay attention to what is happening in the region because “any wrong solution in the Balkans can and will be used elsewhere”.

Kurti insisted that mutual recognition should be the focus of any negotiations, ideas that are rejected by Belgrade.