Vucic, Kurti Adopt Declaration on Missing Persons

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Premier Albin Kurti adopted in Brussels late on May 2 a Declaration on Missing Persons (BETAPHOTO/European Council/Frederic Sierakowski)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Premier Albin Kurti adopted in Brussels late on May 2 a Declaration on Missing Persons, at a meeting that was part of the latest round of EU-mediated dialogue. The Declaration will be posted on the European External Action Service (EEAS) website.

The document was adopted at a meeting between Vucic, Kurti and European foreign minister Josep Borrell, the EU's special representative for the dialogue Miroslav Lajcak and Belgrade's and Pristina's chief negotiators, Petar Petkovic and Besnik Bislimi, respectively.

Borrell said the EU welcomed the adoption of the Declaration on Missing Persons and expected the two sides to achieve tangible progress in resolving the fate of the missing and fulfilling obligations toward the affected families.  

The Joint Monitoring Committee, presided over by the EU, which is in charge of overseeing implementation of the Agreement on the path to normalization between Kosovo and Serbia and its Implementation Annex, will regularly assess the progress made, Borrell said in a written statement.

The EEAS earlier released that the Declaration's adoption would be the first item on the agenda of the meeting followed by the unveiling and a debate on the draft statute for the Community of Serb Municipalities. The parties will have an opportunity to talk about current political issues.

Upon entering the EEAS building, Vucic said that he expected a "difficult" meeting and that "the interests of Serbia and the Serb people in Kosovo will always be above everything." Earlier on May 2 during his trip to Brussels, Vucic accused Kurti of leading "a brutal and dirty" campaign against Serbia for days and that it had "included every analyst and politician" that Kosovo had.

Ahead of the meeting, Kurti met in Brussels on May 2 with U.S. special envoy for the Western Balkans Gabriel Escobar.