US: Vuciq and Kurti to be constructive about European proposal

“We expect the two leaders to approach the meeting in the constructive spirit needed to move forward in line with it”, says the State Department for Voice of America's response on the eve of the new round of dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, which with the European Union's mediation, will be held Monday in Brussels.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vuciq, as European Union envoy for dialogue Miroslav Lajcak earlier reported, in addition to the official accession declaration, should also consider details of the implementation of the European proposal.

The State Department showed the Voice of America in the Serbian language that it is important that Serbia and Kosovo use talks to express their commitment to a peaceful future in the region.

Serbia and Kosovo must reach a comprehensive agreement through dialogue. We believe normalised relations between Kosovo and Serbia should ultimately be aimed at mutual recognition. Progress in the dialogue will open the door of European integration and is of crucial importance to security and stability in the Western Balkans”, the UN's written response for VOA says.

Asked whether some progress or even a turning point can be expected after the next round of talks in Brussels, the State Department replied it is encouraging that Serbia and Kosovo have in principle accepted the European Union's proposal.

The “Offices of the United States and the European Union highlighted the possibilities of the European Union's proposal and stressed the importance of rapid progress to avoid the risk of further escalation”, it says in response.

“We strongly encourage Kosovo Serbs to return to Kosovo institutions as soon as possible so as to improve security and stability for all citizens. We encourage the Government of Kosovo to provide conditions for qualified Kosovo Serbs to do so without delay. The Brussels agreements envisioned the integration of Kosovo Serbs into Kosovo institutions. We fully support those agreements and the continuation of their implementation” is the official position of the UN on this issue.

Also, a very important issue that significantly slows down the possibilities of dialogue between the two sides is implementation of the agreement under the establishment of the Serb majority municipality Association.

It's about organising still unknown and undefined powers and structures, agreed a decade ago in the 2013 Brussels Agreement.

However, in 2015, Kosovo's Constitutional Court found that certain provisions of that agreement were unconstitutional, and Kosovo authorities, at the moment, show no willingness to implement it by contesting it to a greater extent because of the character of an ethnic one.

In recent months, the United States and the European Union have insisted that Kosovo authorities implement that arrangement as soon as possible, which was confirmed once again by the State Department:

Kosovo and Serbia must implement agreements that have signed through the dialogue process, including progress in establishing the majority Serbian Commission Association”.

The strengthened diplomatic initiative of Western allies dedicated to intensifying dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo began in the year of Ukraine's Russian occupation.

Unjustified Russian war, as they call it, has initiated fears of the possibility of spreading conflict or destabilizing areas that are in the realm of Russian influence, Klankosova broadcasts.tv.

One of them is the Balkans and Serbia, a country that has condemned Russian aggression, but there is also one of the few European countries that has not imposed sanctions on it.

On the international stage, Russia supports Serbia's policy, based on the stance that Kosovo is an inevitable part of it, although it uses the former Yugoslav province's declaration of independence as a topic for annexing Ukrainian territories, which most countries of the world consider a flagrant violation of international law.

In response to the question of whether you see the agreement of the parties for the European proposal as the means for neutralising Russia's influence in Serbia, the State Department stresses that dialogue with Kosovo is important for stability.

“Progress towards normalising relations between Serbia and Kosovo through dialogue, with EU mediation, is still very important for regional and European stability at a time when we are facing Russian aggression in Ukraine and crisis across Europe caused by the brutal violence of Putin's unjustified invasion”, the State Department stress.

The eventual refusal of the document, whose official version is not yet known to the public, would imply a negative signal on one or both sides that they are not willing to move faster on the European road, is the assessment of EU envoy Miroslav Lajcak in an interview for “Tanjug”.

In contrast, the State Department has not spoken of possible consequences if Serbia and Kosovo refuse or miss the opportunity they have been offered.

“It is more important to talk about opportunities: the proposal presents opportunities for citizens of Serbia and Kosovo to improve the security and stability of the wider Western Balkan region at a time when Europe is facing the worst crisis since World War II. As already indicated by the European Union, the agreement's accession will accelerate the two countries' progress towards membership in the European Union. It will also advance our main goals for the Western Balkan region ʹ, including the achievement of peace, stability and progress of all peoples”, the State Department concluded.

As the European Foreign Affairs Service reports (EEAS), European diplomacy chief Josep Borey and dialogue envoy Miroslav Lajcak will initially have separate meetings with Albin Kurti and Aleksandar Vucinj, after which the joint meeting will follow.

The talks will focus on the Franco-German or European proposal for normalising relations between Serbia and Kosovo.