Escobar: The US expects a concrete proposal from Kosovo for the Association by May 2

2023-04-20 07:39:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Escobar: The US expects a concrete proposal from Kosovo for the Association by

The American special envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar

The US special envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, says he expects to have a proposal from the Kosovo government for the Association of Serb-Majority Municipalities by May 2 when the leaders of Kosovo and Serbia meet in Brussels.

"I hope that by May 2 there will be a concrete proposal", Mr. Escobar said in an interview for the Albanian service of the Voice of America.

The Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Southern and Central Europe said that there has been progress regarding this issue and an extraordinary evolution in the attitude of the Kosovo government, and in particular the Prime Minister, to accept this legal obligation.

"It is an existing obligation under the Brussels agreement and it was very difficult for this government and party to accept it as mandatory. But now they are considering it as an obligation, they have agreed with it and have said publicly what the framework and parameters of the Association should be. And we agree with these parameters", said Mr. Escobar.

The top State Department official said the United States will recognize Sunday's election in northern Kosovo even if Lista Serb boycotts it, saying the boycott does not define the election.

"We have called and I have personally asked the Serbs, the Serbian List, to participate and not give up their role. The fact that they do not participate is their decision. But these are foreseen by the Constitution. There are unfilled places. There are people who are not receiving services from local government because there is no participation. So if these elections are free and fair, and I predict they will be, the result will be legitimate from our point of view", said Mr. Escobar.

He said he hopes that the Serbs in Kosovo will find a way to return to the institutions. However, Mr. Escobar said that the boycott should not delay the establishment of the Association.

"That obligation is immediate, it is existing. So, regardless of who is in power, the Association must be formed," he said.

Mr. Escobar praised the Ohrid agreement as "extraordinary" and said that if it is properly implemented, it would usher in "a new era in peaceful relations between Serbia and Kosovo" and pave the way for their future Euro- Atlantic.

You can watch the full interview with the senior official of the Department of State, Gabriel Escobar, on Thursday on the TV show "Ditari"./ Voa