Serwer: EU dialogue has reached limits, US will not be included

American expert for the Balkans Daniel Serwer considers this process dim and devoid of substance, stressing that the West is taking a harsher stance on Pristina than on Belgrade.

The dialogue mediated by the European Union and supported by the United States of America has turned into a vague and dysfunctional process, where despite frequent meetings in Brussels and optimistic statements by European officials, real progress in implementing agreed agreements has been minimal.

Serwer said this process can no longer be called literal dialogue, but has become a mechanism that only serves to manage the status quo.

What Kosovo dialogue? Has there been one in the last six months, or even a year? Or over the past several years?”, he has asked, questioning the very existence of a real negotiation process.

According to him, the process facilitated by the EU has reached the point where political will is lacking on both sides. Pristina and Belgrade, he says, have no sincere interest in implementing the agreements or in reaching a final agreement that would bring full normalisation of the reports.

The EU-led “Process appears to have reached the limits of political will in Belgrade and Pristina, where neither of them seems eager to continue more than pretending”, Serwer stressed for Time.

He also raised concerns about the United States' lack of strategic involvement in the process, naming their commitment as vague and unclear.

I have not noticed any strategic interest of the new US Administration in Kosovo. Nor do I see any sign that Washington is redefining its priorities in the region, although there appears to be little cooling over Belgrade”, he has declared.

Citing the goal the US must pursue, Serwer stressed that it should be “mutual recognition and the exchange of ambassadors at full level” between Kosovo and Serbia. According to him, only after this step should the US reduce commitment and co-operation with Serbia until it takes concrete steps towards that recognition. /Periscope/