Leaders Of Serbia And Kosovo Discuss The Eu Peace Proposal

Leaders from Kosovo and Serbia met on Saturday for the most recent round of negotiations facilitated by the EU as pressure mounts on the longtime adversaries to reach a settlement that would normalize relations.

 

The two parties met in North Macedonia after failing to reach an understanding in Brussels last month, when the peace plan was published despite the fact that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic continued to disagree on how to proceed.

 

A crucial demand from Kosovo was included in the 11-point agreement, which said that neither party would use force to settle a disagreement or try to block the other from joining the European Union or other international organizations.

 

With ongoing tensions between Belgrade and its erstwhile breakaway province, Serbia has long refused to recognize Kosovo’s unilateral proclamation of independence from Serbia made in 2008.

 

During the negotiations in Brussels, Vucic swore never to acknowledge Pristina or provide a means for them to accede to the UN or the NATO alliance.

 

Josep Borrell, the head of the EU’s foreign policy, convened a meeting, and Vucic set a belligerent tone.

 

“I don’t intend on signing anything,” Vucic told reporters Thursday, adding the meeting “will not be significant or revolutionary”.

 

Over 25 years after the fight between Serb troops and ethnic Albanian guerrillas spurred a NATO bombing campaign that put an end to the conflict, the most recent round of negotiations followed months of shuttle diplomacy.

 

Kurti of Kosovo expressed optimism about reaching an agreement on Tuesday, but he added Vucic was responsible for signing it.

 

You know quite well that it does not rely just on me as to whether it will succeed or fail, Kurti told the media.

 

“A betrayal,”

 

According to analysts, just signing the deal would not represent a significant advancement.

 

“I anticipate a consensus on the implementation strategy amongst the parties. I’m unable to categorize it as significant since the major event won’t occur until the strategy has been put into action, according to Dusan Milenkovic of the think tank Center for Social Dialogue and Regional Initiatives.

 

Kurti’s administration thinks that a settlement would enable Kosovo to join international organizations, which has been a long-term objective for the Pristina government.

 

Serbia’s Vucic has acknowledged that his country is under enormous pressure to reach an agreement while sending a message to his internal opponents that he would not back down.

 

Large sections of the Serbian populace, who see the region as their legitimate homeland that has been under siege by foreigners for ages, continue to be obsessed with Kosovo.

 

On Friday, tens of thousands protested in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, against an agreement with Kosovo.

 

“This ultimatum … it’s not an agreement, it’s a betrayal,” Milica Djurdjevic Stamenkovski, leader of the ultranationalist organization the Oath Keepers told the gathering.

 

Over 120,000 Serbs reside in Kosovo, many of them are still loyal to Belgrade, particularly in the northern regions close to the Serbian border where there are sometimes violent outbursts, rallies, and unrest.