Kurti and Vucic meet today in Brussels

2023-05-02 08:16:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Aleksandar Vucic and Albin Kurti

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, and the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, are meeting today in Brussels for a new round of talks for the normalization of relations.

The European Union has already confirmed that the two leaders have responded positively to the call of the high representative of the EU, Josep Borrell, for this meeting.

Kurti and Vucic met for the last time in Ohrid, on March 19, when they verbally agreed on the implementation of what is known as the Basic Agreement, which should lead to the normalization of relations between the two countries.

But, after this meeting, the parties interpreted their obligations differently, while the EU emphasized that they are obliged to implement all the points of the agreement.

Failure to implement them will have consequences, the EU has warned.

EU officials have confirmed that two main issues are expected to be on the agenda of today's meeting: the approval of the Declaration on the Disappeared and the presentation of the first draft for the establishment of the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority in Kosovo.

"After these two topics, it will be seen how much other issues can be discussed", said the EU spokesperson, Peter Stano.

The EU has avoided answering journalists' questions about the possible violation of the agreement made by Serbia, by voting against Kosovo's membership in the Council of Europe.

The EU has only reiterated that the parties "must refrain from statements and actions that worsen the situation and the atmosphere for the progress of the dialogue".

"We expect the parties to be committed to implementing their obligations," said Stano. The Basic Agreement does not envisage mutual recognition between Kosovo and Serbia, but requires them not to hinder each other in the integration processes.

She also asks both parties to implement all the agreements reached within the dialogue for the normalization of relations, which started since 2011.

The agreement, which was previously known as the European proposal, also has the support of the United States.

The senior advisor of the US Department of State, Derek Chollet, talked last week with both Kurti and Vucic regarding today's meeting and expressed the hope that the parties will be constructive./ Rel