KOSOVAPRESS News

Greater commitment is required from Kosovo and Serbia in the dialogue

Greater commitment and constructiveness was requested from Kosovo and Serbia for the normalization of relations within the framework of the Brussels dialogue. At the roundtable organized on Wednesday by the Group for Legal and Political Studies (GLPS) on the future of the dialogue, it was said, among other things, that Prishtina and Belgrade are currently not ready to reach a final agreement and implement the current ones.

The professor at the “Johns Hopkins” University in the USA, Daniel Serwer, said that the technical dialogue was much more productive than the current political dialogue.

He emphasized that mutual recognition should be the final goal of the dialogue, but added that he currently does not see that it can happen under these circumstances.

“The technical dialogue was much more productive than the actual political dialogue. The question is why does this happen? It seems that there is no readiness for political normalization from Belgrade. President Vucic expressed interest in political changes, where the new Serbian government is in support of those for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As well as the euphemism for the Serbian world, which includes Kosovo… The main goal should be mutual recognition, but I don’t see this happening”, he said.

In addition, the American analyst said that the continuation of the Biden Administration in the USA for a second term will be better for Kosovo and the Balkans than the return of former President Donald Trump.

“I know the difference between Biden and Trump regarding the Balkans. Biden has moved American politics closer to Belgrade. This is very clear; he maintains the policy of protecting the territorial integrity of the Western Balkan states, if elected he will continue to do so. Trump is very different. The Trump administration has negotiated with Thaçi and Vucic about the division of Kosovo”, said Serwer.

LDK MP Doarsa Kica-Xhelili was also part of the table, who said that Kosovo and Serbia have made small steps in implementing the agreements in the dialogue.

Meanwhile, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Albania, Ditmir Bushati, asked the European Union to take a more active role in the dialogue, while he said that it will be difficult to change Serbia’s destructive approach in this process.

“It will be difficult to see a different attitude in the coming years from the side of Serbia. Serbia and Vucic understand the new reality and the new global order. There are many medium powers that are gaining power in this reality and he is struggling to navigate and this can be seen. I can’t believe that he has the will and that he is motivated to move forward in this process”, said Bushati.

On the other hand, the chairperson of the Helsinki Committee for human rights in Serbia, Sonja Biserko, said that she does not expect an agreement between Kosovo and Serbia without the presence of the United States of America.

The panelists also demanded that the European Union have equal treatment of the parties in the dialogue.