Belgrade – Pristina Dialogue (BETAPHOTO/European Council/Frederic Sierakowski)
The latest round of high-level negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina, which took place in Brussels on June 26, ended without Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti meeting in person.
Two rounds of separate bilateral talks were held between each leader and EU mediators, namely High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and Special Envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Miroslav Lajcak. The planned trilateral meeting, between all three sides, however, never happened.
Vucic told the press in Brussels that Kurti “did not want to meet with him,” with the official explanation being that “he wasn’t ready” for it.
Kurti told the media that Kosovo has three conditions for normalizing relations with Serbia. The first is formalizing the Agreement on the path to normalization between Kosovo and Serbia by having the document officially signed by heads of state; the second is the withdrawal of the reservation letter then-prime minister of Serbia Ana Brnabic sent to the European External Action Service on Dec. 13, 2023; and the third is the extradition of Milan Radoicic and “his paramilitary-terrorist group” to Kosovo authorities.
In the wake of the talks, Borrell explained that Serbia is not ready to fully meet Kosovo’s conditions, citing constitutional limitations, although President Vucic has expressed his willingness to explore options regarding the former PM’s missive and formalizing the Agreement “in line with past Dialogue practices, in order to unblock [the] implementation of the Agreement.”
The high representative went on to say that the EU “presented a new proposal for the implementation plan that would guide the implementation phase of the Agreement.” Unfortunately, he added “the conditioning of implementation did not allow the discussions to focus on how to proceed on the concrete implementation actions by the parties,” their positions remaining “far apart on how the implementation of the Agreement could be launched – and consequently how the normalization process should continue.”
Borrell concluded by insisting “the process will continue,” stating that Special Envoy Lajcak will be hosting Serbia’s and Kosovo’s lead negotiators in Brussels next week “to continue discussing on the implementation plan of the Agreement as well as other Dialogue issues.”
“I believe it takes courage, vision and political will of the leaders, for the future of Kosovo and Serbia, and the well-being of their citizens,” Borrel said, adding that “once again” the European Union stands “ready to help every step along the way.”
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