Billstrom: Kosovo, Serbia implement obligations from Ohrid agreement

Billstrom, whose country currently holds the European Union leadership during the week, has stayed in Serbia as it stayed in Pristina on Thursday for meetings with leaders of Kosovo institutions.

If you engage in an agreement, you have to fulfill it, and that also means that in Serbia's case, they must certainly refrain from preventing Kosovo from membership in international organisations... On the other hand, it is good and proper for Kosovo to fulfil its commitment and make sure that the Association of Major Serb municipalities is established in line with the Ohrid” agreement, Mr. Billstrom said.

He voiced conviction that the agreement after it is implemented would remove the unstable situation in Kosovo's north and positively affect the entire region.

The Ohrid Agreement, supported by the United States, requires good neighbourly relations, recognition of documents and symbols, and respect for each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity. It requires that the parties not stumble each other into integration processes, but does not require mutual recognition. The plan also envisions meeting all previously reached agreements in the European Union-brokered talks, including the one for the Association of Serb-run municipalities in Kosovo.

Implementation of the agreement is expected to be discussed by 2 naj in Brussels at the next meeting between Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

European Union officials have said Kosovo and Serbia should implement the whole agreement, and any refusal to do so would have negative consequences. /Vosa