Ben-Meir for dialogue: Trump will have greater influence over sides

The deal reached in Ohrid, North Macedonia continues to remain in the air, and the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue is almost completely blocked. Until Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vuciq have rarely met, now, when they have been filled two years of this agreement, geopolitical circumstances have taken another turn.

Two years have passed since Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vuciq, agreed to implement the Constitutional Agreement Anex, which was reached in Brussels in the last days of February 2023. They, like, agreed to “not to agree on”.

At the meeting on Lake Ohrid, the two leaders agreed that Kosovo and Serbia develop normal good neighbourly relations and, among other things, recognised relevant documents and national symbols, including passports, diplomas, license plates and customs stamps.

Kosovo took the commitment to implement agreements reached earlier, including the one which envisions the creation of the Association of Communities with the Serb Majority, while Serbia would not oppose Kosovo's membership in any international organisation.

And as “yield”, the EU had taken over to organise a donor conference within 150 days to create an investment package and financial assistance for Kosovo and Serbia.

Retired International Relations Professor, formerly at New York University's Centre for Global Affairs and senior member at the World Policy Institute, Alon Ben-May in an interview KALLXO.com, blames the two states, the two leaders and the European Union for failing to dialogue.

However, he acknowledges that the EU has put more pressure on Kosovo than on Serbia to implement the provisions of the Agreement. Even, according to him, the EU has failed to use its considerable influence effectively.

The dialogue will be delivered, according to him, the hand of American President Donald Trump. Although Meir says Trump has more economic interests in Serbia, he believes he will not abandon Kosovo to leave the issue exclusively with the EU. However, according to him, Trump will exert more pressure on Kosovo than on Serbia in its efforts to ease the Kosovo-Serbia conflict.

“Anyone who wants to form the new Government in Kosovo must be willing to face a US president who is unconventional and unpredictable. And be ready for all possibilities that could happen”, he said, among other things during the interview.

Regarding the obstacle Serbia is making to Kosovo for membership in international organisations, Ben-Meir said the Trump administration would have a greater impact on Serbia than the EU and “will even force it to stop efforts to convince the states that have recognised Kosovo to withdraw recognition”. /Callo. com/