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The joint visit of senior EU and US diplomats to Pristina and Belgrade was designed to show that Washington and Brussels are working in close partnership and that there is no room between them for any party to use, he said. for Radio Free Europe, Edward P. Joseph, Professor at Johns Hopkins University in Washington.
The US special envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, and the EU special envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, visited Pristina and Belgrade this week.
Professor Joseph said this joint visit was a clear attempt to foster a resumption of dialogue, which has stalled following a series of controversial events that took place in the autumn.
“What the US and the EU can not achieve in dialogue – in the form in which it is currently structured – is what Serbia, Kosovo and the region need: resolving disputes,” Joseph said.
During their visit, Escobar and Lajcak called on Kosovo and Serbia to return to the negotiating table.
Kosovo and Serbia held the last round of high-level political dialogue in July 2021, but this meeting between the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, and the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, did not produce any concrete results.
Radio Free Europe: What do you think is the significance for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue of the joint visit of the EU Special Representative, Miroslav Lajcak, and the US Special Envoy, Gabriel Escobar, to Pristina and Belgrade? Do you see this visit as a step forward for the parties to return to the negotiating table?
Edward P. Joseph: The joint visit is clearly an attempt to resume the dialogue that has stalled after a long hiatus and a series of controversial events that took place in the autumn. We should not forget the car license plate dispute in September, which prompted the deployment of Serbian fighter jets and armored vehicles – along with a visit to the Russian ambassador’s border or the noise caused in Serbia following the coordinated police deployment in the north. , to arrest members of an organized crime network.
We must also not forget that dialogue stalled before the Kurti government was elected last year. The talks failed during the previous Hoti Government, not long after the Washington Agreement was signed in September 2020.
So the visit of Lajcak and Escobar is a natural attempt to restart the process, which is apparently built around advancing the discussion on the Association of Serb-majority municipalities. In Pristina, they said benign guarantees to the Association, and in Belgrade acknowledged that what the parties agreed on in the dialogue must be implemented.
As the US has done since the Biden administration arrived, the joint visit is designed to show that Washington and Brussels are working in close partnership and that there is no room between them for either side to take advantage of.
Radio Free Europe: What impact can the joint efforts of the EU and the US have on resuming the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia?
Edward P. Joseph: It is important to understand what dialogue can and cannot achieve, in the form in which it is currently structured. Lajçaku, with the support of Escobar, skillfully resolved the crisis for license plates in the fall. The parties can and should resolve long-standing outstanding issues within the dialogue, such as the issue of missing persons.
I know first hand the importance of finding practical solutions to these types of issues. In April 2012, as Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, I personally negotiated an agreement between Belgrade and Pristina to hold Serbian elections in Kosovo. These were the elections that brought the main ruling parties in Serbia to power. Both sides were fully satisfied with the way the OSCE handled the election issue. This solution allowed Kosovo Serbs to vote in a dignified manner – without compromising in any way Kosovo’s independence or constitutional authority. I certainly hope that Kosovo Serbs will be allowed to vote again in the spring elections, under the auspices of the OSCE.
So these are clearly important steps, practical steps that dialogue can take. What the US and the EU can not achieve in dialogue – in the form in which it is currently structured – is what Serbia, Kosovo and the region need: dispute resolution. The reason is not something transient like domestic politics, but something more essential: the imbalance of levers of influence between the two sides. Only Kosovo is penalized for not having a solution and not Serbia.
US envoy to the Western Balkans Gabriel Escobar, and EU envoy for dialogue Miroslav Lajcak during a visit to Pristina.
We know that imbalance in the levers is a problem because of what the Vucic regime says and does. For example, in December, Serbian Foreign Minister Sellakovi dekla reiterated that “Kosovo is a major political and military challenge for Serbia.” Does this sound like an attitude of a government that is willing to negotiate a solution?
But, this goes beyond the statements. Look at the actions Belgrade is taking to keep Kosovo internationally isolated – running from Iran to Suriname, to Greece and as far as Africa…. and in international forums such as INTERPOL. It does all this to keep Kosovo isolated and weak.
To me this is not a signal of a government seeking to negotiate a solution. And it is not even a sign of a powerful state. On the contrary, the recognition campaign is a sign of the regime’s weakness. Serbian officials are worried about losing leverage over Kosovo, so they run to these countries, trying to block the decision to recognize Pristina.
Radio Free Europe: In your opinion, what is the sustainable and long-term solution when it comes to the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia?
Edward P. Joseph: It’s very clear. As I and my co-authors from Kosovo and Serbia wrote in a recent report published by Johns Hopkins and the Wilson Center, the solution lies in undoing Serbia’s leverage over Kosovo. The movement of the parties towards balance is what will open the door to a negotiable solution that protects the sovereignty, territorial integrity and internal functionality of Kosovo and protects the rights of the Kosovo Serb community.
Our report is entitled: “From crisis to convergence – Strategy to address instability and its source in the Balkans.” The solution lies in moving forward from four NATO countries that do not recognize Kosovo: Greece, Spain, Slovakia and Romania. Immediate recognition is not required. What is needed is to take steps such as the entry of Kosovo into the Partnership for Peace and the return to KFOR of Spanish and Slovak troops. These, along with other concrete steps, could have a rapid effect on the dialogue and help advance the date of the “inevitable” Greek recognition of Kosovo.
Kosovo’s move towards NATO removes Serbian leverage over Kosovo, making a dignified and stabilizing solution feasible. An Association of Serb-majority municipalities is significant and stabilizing, is a very big part of this vision.
The EU and the US are fully capable of mediating a dignified and lasting solution once one party, Serbia, does not have all the levers of influence. In this context, the attitudes within Serbia about Kosovo will evolve. Without the levers of influence over Kosovo, the regime will make a new strategic calculation and will eventually have to face the question of whether Serbia is in line with the US and the EU as a democracy, at peace with its neighbors. , or is in line with the enemies of the West and anti-democratic forces. Let me add that a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine will expose even more clearly where the Vucic regime currently stands./REL
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