Global Courant
The meeting called by the European envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia talks, Miroslav Lajçak, between Prime Minister Albin Kurti and President Aleksandar Vucic, which aims to reduce tensions between the two countries, is not expected to take place this week, the American envoy for the Western Balkans tells the Voice of America Gabriel Escobar.
In an interview with the Head of the Albanian Service Arben Xixho, Mr. Escobar also opposes the proposal of Mr. Kurti, that for the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority, the parties agree in advance on its general lines, before Prishtina presents a concrete project .
Voice of America: The situation in Kosovo is going from escalation to escalation. What will be done next?
Gabriel Escobar: We must work immediately on a plan to de-escalate tensions. The European Union has already presented a three-point plan, that is, for the presidents to leave the building, for KFOR to take over the security of the buildings, for the protesters to leave, for the people who attacked the police and journalists to be held accountable, and for new elections to be called as soon as possible. as soon as possible, with the participation of the Serbs without any preconditions and an immediate return to dialogue.
Voice of America: Have you had a response from Mr. Kurti’s government to these proposals?
Gabriel Escobar: It’s too early to say. We still hope for a meeting in Brussels of the two leaders in the near future.
Voice of America: Mr. Kurti said he will attend the meeting.
Gabriel Escobar: It is too early to decide if the meeting will take place this week. I have the impression that it will not happen, but we should continue to hope for a high-level meeting as soon as possible.
Voice of America: Mr. Kurti said in a press conference that he is ready to present a project for the association of Serbian municipalities by But, he said that both sides are far from each other in terms of the form that this will take association in the future and that there is no point in talking now. And he is suggesting that the two sides first agree on the main principles of the association and then he can present the proposal. What is your answer?
Gabriel Escobar: No need to wait for that. You don’t have to wait for that. Our position is that it should be a European model. So our position, the American position, has always been that the model of the association should be such that it provides municipal services to a Serbian-speaking national minority. That’s it – utilities. It should not interfere with the constitution of Kosovo, its legal structure, or its functionality. The special representative of the European Union has given them 16 different types of European models that would work for Kosovo. In none of those models is it possible for a neighboring country to enter the borders of another country and hinder its functionality. So we are not looking for a mathematical means between the two positions. Looking for a European version. So he doesn’t need anything more than that.
Voice of America: During the last few months, there have been high tensions between Kosovo and Serbia. This coincided with a change in Washington’s policy, putting more pressure on Pristina. How do you judge this?
Gabriel Escobar: I think this is misinformation. Let me put it this way: Everything we have done during the last 90 days has been for the good of Kosovo, everything. So we supported the Council of Europe. We saw the need for new elections. We supported them. We supported them even though Serbia was against them. We know the result of the election, although they had only 3% participation. Serbia wanted us to declare them illegal. Serbia wanted us not to recognize the authority of the mayors. We recognized them. When the presidents were inaugurated, for us they were presidents. We are already in a difficult position when these mayors cannot claim to represent the communities where they are mayors. That is why we need new elections. But in the same way, we accepted that these mayors have the legal authority to continue the municipal functions. However, we had asked for one thing, that Kosovo should not try to take control of municipal buildings by force. I have been part of the US federal government since I was 19 years old. I have seen the US government abandon buildings due to fires and floods and most recently COVID and even protests, but no one ever questioned the legitimacy of the US government. The only thing we asked from the government of Kosovo is not to increase tensions, trying to go there by force. And yet they did so. So on the one hand, everything we have done has recognized the legitimacy of Kosovo. We have always sided with them in all these disputes.
Voice of America: In Kosovo, they would say that even Vucic has done nothing to reduce tensions, but he was not under such great pressure.
Gabriel Escobar: That’s not true. So, like I said, he contradicted everything we did in the last 90 days. And yet we moved on. We have also asked Serbia to withdraw its forces from the border unilaterally, without conditions; to encourage the Serbs to return unconditionally. And he has agreed to both of these. So it is not clear what we need other than to move forward with the dialogue.
Voice of America: And if Mr. Kurti doesn’t listen to you? What will happen?
Gabriel Escobar: This is not a US issue – Kurti. Here is the entire transatlantic community telling the government of Kosovo that we want to cooperate with the government, but we cannot respect unilateral decisions that create tension in an unnecessary, avoidable and predictable way. That’s all we’re looking for./VOA
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