In Security Council, Kosovo, Serbia accuse each other of blocking dialogue

During discussions on Kosovo's new six-month report to the UN Security Council, Kosovo and Serbia foreign ministers accused each other of blocking the dialogue mediated by the European Union.

At the session, held in New York, U.S.A., and was led by Russia, members of the Security Council called for agreement to be reached in Brussels and for both sides to refrain from inciting tensions.

Kosovo Foreign Minister Donika Grovalla said Serbia is trying to block Balkan integration into the European Union and block progress in dialogue.

It is clear that Serbia does not want agreement in dialogue. On the contrary, it will prevent any agreement because 2023 Serbia will no longer join the European Union”, she said.

On the other hand, Serbia's Foreign Minister, Ivica Dacic, said that in the Gervala speech, Kosovo “does not actually want a dialogue. They want the continuation of the war, the conflicts”.

During her speech, Gervala cited crimes against the Albanian population during the 1999 war and compared the war in Kosovo to the current Russian invasion in Ukraine, while saying that “Serbia is the biggest threat to peace in the Balkans”.

Daçic seeks foundation of association

During his speech, Dacic called for agreements signed earlier within the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue to be implemented.

“It is necessary to form the Association of Serb majority municipalities as soon as possible because this is the only possible mechanism for protecting the rights and security of the Serb community in Kosovo”, Dacic said.

“Pristina is deliberately avoiding meeting this task”.

He insisted that Serbia “will never recognise Kosovo's independence” and also demanded full implementation of UN Resolution 1244.

You must cancel, or respect it. If you do not respect [Resolute 1244], then you are questioned why the UN exists”, Dacic said.

Resolution 1244, adopted in 1999, offered a framework for resolving the Kosovo conflict, authorising the establishment of an international, civilian and military presence. It founded an international transition administration and supervised the withdrawal of Serbian military forces from Kosovo.

UNMIK chief seeks not to use inflammatory rhetoric

During the presentation of the report on Kosovo to the UN Security Council, UNMIK chief Caroline Ziade called for normalising relations between Kosovo and Serbia, and called for both sides to refrain from stimulating rhetoric.

Ziade said various challenges have been recorded over the past year, “but also attempts to approach normalisation relations between Kosovo and Serbia”.

The “Liders must take responsible steps to reduce the likelihood of deadlock on issues that have degraded public confidence over the past few months, she said, citing as examples the withdrawal of Serbs from Kosovo institutions in the north and the boycott of Sunday's April 23rd elections by Serbs.

She said tensions between Kosovo and Serbia had not only distanced the two sides from the efforts to normalise relations through dialogue, but had also put the “near the edge for physical confrontation”.

Speaking of elections in the north, Ziade stressed that they were peaceful, but “at the same time, the question of representation should be addressed as part of the broader political process”.

According to Ziades, a step forward in relations between Kosovo and Serbia could be the adoption of the declaration on missing persons.

Internationals Call for Agreement

US representative Jeffrey deLcredits expressed satisfaction with the steps taken by Kosovo and Serbia at the recent meetings between leaders in Brussels and Ohrid, while adding that he hopes to see similar wills in the upcoming May 2nd meeting.

“We encourage Kosovo and Serbia to move quickly to implement their respective pledges and avoid repeated crises that have hampered progress in the EU-brokered dialogue”, deLURnis said.

He called for the establishment of the Association of Serb majority municipalities “in a way that accords with the Kosovo Constitution”.

While, representatives of Great Britain and France expressed support for the EU-brokered dialogue. France called for both sides to refrain from actions that could escalate tensions between the two countries.

Great Britain's representative stressed that “fully supports Kosovo's involvement in the international system”, while calling for the establishment of the Serb majority municipalities' association.

“We strongly encourage both sides to demonstrate the political will and courage to realise what they were hired for”, he said.

Russia's representative, Vasily Nebenzya, criticised Minister Gervala for her statements concerning the war in Ukraine, saying this “is not the issue of Pristina”, while he said there is an ongoing attempt to remove Serbs from Kosovo.

Russia's stance on Kosovo remains unchanged. The solution should be in the interest of Belgrade and the Serbian people and must be approved by the Security Council”, he said.

Mandata i UNMIK Questioned

During her speech, Foreign Minister Grovall said the report presented has errors and how many important events are missing, while adding that “these shortcomings are not new”.

“U n NMIC has become a destabilising factor and does not serve stability and peace in the region. With this report, it has also documented how unnecessary it has become”, Gervalla said.

US, Great Britain representatives said US mandate should be revised UNMIK.

It is time for the UN to find a more relevant role in Kosovo. We must admit that the mission has long fulfilled its original mandate”, the US representative said.

While China's representative, Geng Shuang, said that Kosovo's “issue is still a security problem for the Balkans and Europe. So the role of UNMIK remains necessary”.

Gervala complains she was not allowed to speak Albanian

Kosovo's Foreign Minister said the president of the Security Council for April, Russian Ambassador Vassilily Nebenzia, denied it the right to give her speech in Albanian.

Nebenzia denied this, saying Gervala would have been allowed to speak in Albanian if he had insisted and had he not recognised either of the six UN official languages.

Albania's Ambassador to the UN, Ferit Hoxha, said that “is ridiculous to say that it had to insist”, after saying Kosovo has applied in writing to give the speech in Albanian.

Hoxha added that the Russian presidency of the Security Council was not impartial, in a statement the US representative, deLcredits, later agreed to.

What's in the report?

In the report for the new six-month report for the period from September 16th, 2022 to March 18th, 2023, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres welcomed the Agreement on normalising relations between Kosovo and Serbia, and its Implementation Annex, for which leaders of both sides recently reached agreement.

Guterres, in the report, estimated that the new framework of dialogue has potential to advance the process towards reaching long-term solutions.

He said constructive engagement in the comprehensive implementation of the Agreement would be necessary to preserve stability and prevent renewed tensions and conflicts.

“Pales have fully pledged to respect all provisions of the Agreement and to fulfil all obligations in a proper and confidential manner. This is even more important, because events during the period that was watched brought tensions to a level of crisis, resulting in the most serious impasse since the start of the dialogue process [between Kosovo and Serbia] in 2011”, Guterres wrote.

He added that intensified and stimulating “retorics from all sides, setting up roadblocks, numerous security incidents and protests in northern Kosovo have increased the risk of violence”.

The <x0 incidents of ethnic nature, the use of firearms and injuries between civilians and among Kosovo Police members, as well as the apparent target of journalists and international security actors, were of particular concern. All sides must be restrained and ensure that all disputes are resolved peacefully through dialogue, not escalation of violence]”, Guterres wrote.

The Key to Backing to Institutions

In the report, where no local elections were held last week in four municipalities in northern Kosovo, Guterres said further progress in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina is “kyc for creating conditions for the return of Kosovo Serb representatives to Kosovo institutions in the north”.

Since the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 12 44 on June 10, 1999, this body has discussed Kosovo four times a year until 2018.

In 2019 three UN Security Council hearings for Kosovo were held, while two sessions per year were held by 2020. / REL