US asks Kurti for a proposal for Association

After another unsuccessful round of dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, messages are coming from Washington about the need for a new approach. Initially, they addressed Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, whose special American envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, once again called on him to change his approach and respect his obligations.

However, there are also thoughts that American and European partners themselves must change their strategy, as this current is not producing results.

It is time for a new approach of partners in dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Escobar says, speaking of the Serbian edition of the “American Voice” in New York, where he met with leaders from the region in the UN General Assembly margins.

It's time for a new approach to those people who approach dialogue with attitude: Take it or leave it. I'm basically talking about the Government of Kosovo. They know their obligations. And I think Josep Borrell's statement was very clear. We continue to encourage Serbia to be constructive and patient. We continue to ask her not to do anything that contributes to the destabilisation of Kosovo. We must continue to work for dialogue. There is no alternative for the region except European integration”, he said.

A similar message comes from Congress. Mike Turner, the republican congresswoman from Ohio who recently visited the region, has praised the <x0mer of America” that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti must fulfil his obligations regarding the formation of the majority Serbian Communist Association.

When I met with President (of Kosovo Vjosa), Osmani, I made it clear that progress is needed in terms of association. Kosovo has not yet submitted a proposal. And this is an obligation that is the result of dialogue, with European mediation and which the United States supported, but it was not part of it. But that obligation was taken, and the prime minister must fulfil and make a proposal, so that at least people can see that he is not insincere, that these talks are actually aimed at resolving the” conflict, Turner said, broadcast Klankosova.tv.

Analyst and professor at Johns Hopkins University, Sinisa Vukovic, says Kurti is a difficult negotiator for European and American officials, because by insisting on the phased implementation of the agreement, he sets conditions that were not envisioned in the guide in the previous period.

This gives the president (of Serbia, Aleksandar) Vuciq and Serbian authorities a much better position than Kosovo. Although they do not receive the same level of criticism as Kosovo, and by looking at it on the side of the negotiations, the reasons are simple the mediators outlined purpose and strategy and they do not want to deviate from that strategy at the moment they face a wall and try to blame one of the two sides. I think this is not sustainable and in the near future there may be a change in the strategic positioning of the United States and the EU... There is a growing awareness that either there will be a mutual change of approach or this process will prove to be too heavy and difficult for the American administration and nobody likes to answer for the failure”.

Vukovic adds that Kurti is guided by his assessment of what is in Kosovo's national interest and that he currently feels no internal pressure to change his approach. Washington's efforts, however, are focused precisely for Kosovo's prime minister to comply with meeting the obligation to form the Serb majority municipality Association.

Gabriel Escobar dismissed Pristina's criticism that the European Union's envoy in the dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, is unilateral in Serbia's favour.

“Lajcak enjoys the full trust of the European Union and the United States. After the collapse of the talks, 27 European Union member states publicly expressed their support for Lajcak. So this is something Kurt will have to deal with. Lajcak and dialogue will not disappear. A country with a million and a half inhabitants will not convince the transatlantic community of 700 million people to change its” tactics.

Sinisa Vukovic recalls that the final goal of the US and its vision of the future is the mutual recognition of Kosovo and Serbia, but believes a problematic strategy has been chosen to achieve results.

“Precisely due to such decisions as taken and tactics to achieve the goal, Serbia was found, perhaps unexpectedly, and perhaps strategically, in a comfortable position to buy time and Serbia is seen as a kind of stability factor, at least at the moment, which should not be blamed long enough, so that after taking a kind of compromise from Kosovo dealt with the same thing. Serbia may buy time at this moment, but the next step is to expect Serbia to meet what is expected of it. If this is not achieved, only then can we expect serious pressure and serious changes in Western relations with Serbia”.

Congressman Mike Turner, who is also chairman of the House of Foreign Affairs Commission, believes the administration of Joe Biden and the State Department should give greater priority to resolving relations between Kosovo and Serbia.

Even though America is entering an election year, Sinisa Vukovic believes that attention towards the Balkans will not decrease, even though it is not an open focus like Ukraine or a neuroglobal point like Taiwan.

“in any case, the Balkans have an adequate level, and perhaps more than that, attention within the State Department. You can see the level from which those messages come when it comes to the Balkans. What may surprise many is the lack of results and perhaps this frequency of messages is only due to the lack of results expected so far”, Vukovic said.

And since the Kosovo prime minister's policy is currently identified as an obstacle to continuing dialogue, administration and Congress representatives have once again called on Serbia to honour European sanctions against Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine.