19 minutes agoPetkovic's secessional Bislem Meetings With Lajcak
Periskopi(3 years ago)
(3 years ago)In Brussels, meetings under dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia have ended at the level of chief negotiators. There are still no proposals for the outcome of the talks during these meetings. Although European Union sources had said the goal was for Kosovo and Serbia delegations to meet among themselves, a trilateral meeting does not have [...]
Although European Union sources had said the goal was for Kosovo and Serbia delegations to meet among themselves, a trilateral meeting has not occurred.
Meetings started after 9:30 in the morning.
Initially, the European Union's envoy for dialogue between the two countries, Miroslav Lajcak, has had a meeting with Serbia's delegation chief, Petar Petkov, who has lasted until after 12:00.
Then the meeting with the Kosovo delegation has started.
Neither Kosovo delegations nor the EU are provided information about the course of meetings.
Meanwhile, Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vuciq, is also standing in Brussels.
He, too, has been warned he will hold a meeting with Lajcak.
According to EU sources, there are two main goals Lajcak will have in talks with the two delegation chiefs.
The first is the focus on full implementation of the agreement leading to the normalisation of Kosovo-Serbia relations -- either in February, as well as the annex for implementation agreed on in Ohrid in March.
The second goal is to discuss steps to reduce tensions in northern Kosovo.
For this, Kosovo and the EU have agreed to a meeting that Lajcak and Bislim have held last week in Bratislava.
Official Pristina says it has taken the steps agreed upon, while official Belgrade has not stated clearly whether this reconciliation for enlargement is acceptable to it.
So far it has often happened that at the dialogue meetings there will only be bilateral meetings between EU representatives and the Kosovo delegation, respectively.
That is what happened in June when Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti was in Brussels, and Serbia's President Aleksandar Vuciq. They had separate meetings with senior EU representative Josep Borrell, but not among themselves.
It was Serbia's president, Vuciq, who has refused to have a meeting with Kosovo Prime Minister Kurti. There have been times when even the chief negotiators have refused to sit at joint meetings.
In such situations, EU facilitators discuss one with one, and then with the other, in an effort to approach attitudes.
Extension north “halfway”
Tensions in northern Kosovo have turned the dialogue process into crisis management and have turned the focus away from implementing the Ohrid Agreement.
The situation in northern Kosovo -- the Serb-run residential area -- has been tense since the end of May, when Kosovo Police have assisted the young Albanian mayors of Zvecan, Zubin Potok's Leposaviqi -- despite the resistance of local Serb residents.
Tensions have culminated in violence 29 May, when Serb protesters in Zvecan have clashed with NATO mission soldiers, KFOR.
Tens of injuries have been reported from both sides.
The international community has made Kosovo responsible for the tensions created, while Kosovo and Serbia have blamed each other.
The US envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, has said Tuesday he sees no readiness for Kosovo and Serbia to implement the Ohrid Agreement, though she, according to him, offers extraordinary opportunities for both countries. / REL
