“ - What O'Brien said about moving the Serbian Army near the border and the dinar issue

US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia James O'Brien has said that the United States is monitoring the movements of the Serbian Army near the border with Kosovo and that his country has made it known to Serbia that the use of force would be unacceptable.

“In Serbia, [Serbia's president, Aleksandar] Vuciq well knows that any use of force against Kosovo would be unacceptable, it would be considered risking NATO forces, which are there to protect the population, Albanians and Serbs. He said there would be no use of force”.

Therefore, he has called on Kosovo and Serbia to take action to reduce tensions in the region.

O'Brien made these statements in a conversation with online journalists.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has said on March 21st that Serb army units have been observed several metres away from the border with Kosovo, and has named these moves “deliberate provocations”.

On Friday, Serbia's Defence Ministry has called Kurt's statements part of the deinformation campaign for Serbia's military.

According to her, Serbian Army forces are carrying out their duties in the secure administrative zone, in accordance with all signed agreements.

Peacekeeping Mission NATO in Kosovo, KFOR has said Friday that the security situation in Kosovo is “calm but fragile”, as well as calling on Kosovo and Serbia to refrain from escalating and divisive rhetoric.

The American official has also said that Serbia has become clear that persons involved in the September 24th 2023 attack on Zvecan Banjska should be held accountable.

That day, an armed Serb group has killed Kosovo Police Officer Africa Bulnjak, while in exchange for the fire three Serb attackers have been killed.

The responsibility for the attack has taken over former Serbia List Deputy Chairman Milan Radojic.

Kosovo blames Serbia's state for organising the attack, but it denies it.

When speaking of Kosovo, O'Brien has said that no Government should make decisions that poor the population.

However, we see that in northern Kosovo it is very difficult for a number of individuals to buy the things they need for their daily”.

His statement has been reference to the new regulation of Kosovo Central Bank (BQK), which defines the euro as the only currency for making cash payments.

Thus, the use of the Serbian dinar has been impossible.

Serbia claims it shares assistance for Kosovo Serbs worth millions of euros, giving them salaries, pensions and additional assistance.

O'Brien has said that the US envoy for the Western Balkans himself, Gabriel Escobar, visited northern Kosovo citizens days ago to see the situation there.

Kosovo's “My friends are now saying they would like this regulation to be revised and implemented so that it enables its citizens to pay for everyday things. That means taking a step back, allowing the entry of any currency, euro, dinars, is something Lajcak” is discussing, he said, referring to European Union envoy for Kosovo-Serbia dialogue Miroslav Lajcak.

The delegations of Kosovo and Serbia were hired days ago that within days they would propose solutions for the dinar.

O'Brien has said that the US believes that the BQ's regulation is being implemented in a way that makes everydayity difficult for Kosovo citizens.

Among other things, he has said the decision on the dinar has not been taken in due time, since, according to him, many important agreements have been reached in autumn last year, including what the northern Serbs pay for the electricity they spend.

So he has said he sees the decision as strange that Serbs now be banned from services that would allow them to pay.

“We understand that the government [of Kosovo] wants to understand what wave is going on inside the territory, but there are ways to ensure transparency, without taking the current” actions.

Residents of northern Kosovo, inhabited by Serb majority since 1999, have not paid for the spent energy.

But, the distribution of electricity bills in the north has started on February 29th, after reaching agreements between Kosovo and Serbia.

Kosovo and Council of Europe
During the conference, O'Brien has recalled that Kosovo faces several important votes these weeks on the road to membership in international organisations.

He has mentioned the Council of Europe must say that Kosovo has already agreed, or pledged, to implement certain criteria, to move forward.

“One of them has been the progress that has been made regarding the land dispute over the Decani Monastery, and we have publicly welcomed the steps the Government has taken for it ... but it has also been said that Kosovo should take steps towards forming the Association of Serb majority municipalities before the Council of Ministers in the Council of Europe handles this point, and that it has been implemented before the Council of Ministers votes for the work of membership”.

O'Brien has said that the US continues to support Kosovo in its goals for membership in international organisations, but that Kosovo has made pledges concerning association and that “this is the critical point of achieving what it has targeted, which in this case is membership”.

These are some of the difficult decisions governments must make. We will support them as they make these decisions so they can join the European and international community”.

Kosovo's membership in the Council of Europe has been re-actualised in recent weeks, as, at the request of the Kosovo Government to the Cadastral Agency for the transfer of 24 hectares of land on behalf of the Decani Monastery, one of the main conditions for membership has been met.

The ownership of the Decani Monastery on this land was confirmed by the Constitutional Court of Kosovo in May 2016, but the responsible authorities have not implemented the decision.

In addition to O'Brien, US envoy for the Western Balkans Gabriel Escobar has cited implementation of the Association Agreement as a condition for membership in the Council of Europe.

Kosovo and Serbia have reached agreement on Association in 2013 and later 2015 on principles for its establishment.

But in 2015, the Constitutional Court of Kosovo has found that the agreement is not in full harmony with the Constitution.

Serbia wants Kosovo to implement the agreements reached, but the Kosovo government has been declared against a single-ethnic association.

O'Brien has said that if someone inside Kosovo wants to take other action from those who have pledged é by emphasising the association é “they have the right to act”, but that they may not later be in line with the goals Kosovo has had in the past 20 years.

The US official has also cited the need to implement the Ohrid Agreement.

In February of last year, Kosovo and Serbia have reached compliance with an agreement aimed at normalising relations between the two countries.

In March, the parties later agreed to an annex of implementation, known as the Ohrid Agreement.

However, little progress has been made by both sides towards implementation.

The two countries have been dialogue with the European Union since 2011.

They have signed a host of other agreements, but not all have been implemented. /Radio Free Europe