Vučič-Kurti meeting/ Declaration on the Disappeared is approved, draft statute for the Association is presented

2023-05-02 21:40:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Vu?i?-Kurti meeting/ Declaration on the Disappeared is approved, draft statute

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, and the President of Serbia, Aleksandër Vucic, approved the Declaration for the Disappeared from the last war in Kosovo, during a meeting in Brussels.

The declaration foresees some commitments for the parties, which may lead to clarifying the fate of over 1,600 people who continue to remain missing from the war of 1998/99.

The head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borell, who is chairing the Kurti-Vucic meeting, said that the EU welcomes the adoption of this declaration and expects "the parties to make tangible progress in closing the outstanding cases of missing persons. " ".

" Resolving the issue of missing persons is not only a humanitarian obligation. It is also an essential opportunity for reconciliation and trust between people ," said Borrell, among others.

Andin Hoti, head of the Governmental Commission for Missing Persons in Kosovo, said that Serbia, for the first time, through an official document, agreed to open its state archives, including classified ones, regarding the issue of the disappeared.

Kurti and Vu?i? sit at a table/ The Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority is discussed
May 2, 18:37

Ahmet Grajçevci, chairman of the Coordinating Council of Associations of Family Members of Missing Persons in Kosovo, told Radio Free Europe that the Declaration has several flaws, including the unspecified time for clarifying the fate of the missing persons.

The approval of the Declaration on the Disappeared was the first item on the agenda in the meeting that Kurti and Vucic are having in Brussels.

The second point concerns the process of forming the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority in Kosovo.

The Management Team - consisting of four members of the Serbian community, including a member of the Serbian Parliament - presented the draft statute for the formation of this association.

Danijella Vujicic, from this team, said that the draft took four months - from April 2018 to August 2018.

"Today, after five years, we had the opportunity to present the completed draft in 2018 ," Vujicic told reporters.

Talks on this document are ongoing in Brussels.

The President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, said earlier that a draft of the Association's statute would have to be presented by Kosovo, because "we dare not allow the draft of the so-called management team, which in reality is Vu?i?'s draft, to become the basis of negotiations".

Before the meeting in Brussels, Vucic wrote on Instagram that " it will be difficult".

" Against us are all the greats in the West ," he said, without clarifying who exactly he was referring to.

"However, we have the law and justice on our side. More important than this is that they do not understand how strong the love of freedom is and how strongly you can guard it. In spite of all the pressures ", said Vucic.

Kurti, before the meeting, spoke with the special envoy of the United States for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar.

A day earlier, he also spoke with the adviser of the US Department of State, Derek Chollet, who expressed the expectations of the US for a constructive meeting between Kurti and Vucic, as well as for progress in the talks, especially on the issue of the Association.

Vu?i?-Kurti meeting/ Declaration on the Disappeared is approved, draft statute

For this association, Kosovo and Serbia have reached an agreement since 2013, but it has never been implemented.

Serbia has constantly insisted on wider powers for it, while Kosovo has said that such would undermine the functionality of the state.

Kurti and Vucic met for the last time in Ohrid, on March 19, when they verbally agreed on the implementation of a new agreement that should lead to the normalization of relations between the two countries.

This agreement, previously known as the European proposal, requires both parties to implement all agreements reached within the dialogue for the normalization of relations, including the one for the Association.

It does not envisage mutual recognition between Kosovo and Serbia, but asks them not to hinder each other in the integration processes.

Until now, the only fulfilled point of the agreement is the establishment of the Joint Monitoring Committee that will supervise the implementation of the agreement./ REL