The meeting called by EU Special Envoy for Kosovo-Serbia Dialogue Miroslav Lajčák between Prime Minister Albin Kurti and President Aleksandar Vučić, aimed at reducing tensions between the two countries, is not expected to take place this week, said the US Balkans envoy Gabriel Escobar in an interview with Voice of America. Escobar also opposed Kurti’s proposal that parties should agree on its general outlines in advance before Pristina presents a concrete project for the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities.
Voice of America: The situation in Kosovo is escalating. What will be the next steps?
Gabriel Escobar: We need to immediately work on a plan to de-escalate tensions. The European Union has already presented a three-point plan, which includes the leaders leaving the building, KFOR taking over the security of the premises, the protesters leaving, the individuals who attacked the police and journalists being held accountable, and new elections being called as soon as possible, with the participation of Serbs without any preconditions and an immediate return to dialogue.
Voice of America: Have you received a response from Prime Minister Kurti’s government regarding these proposals?
Gabriel Escobar: It is too early to say. We still hope for a meeting between the leaders in Brussels in the near future.
Voice of America: Mr. Kurti said he would participate in the meeting.
Gabriel Escobar: It is too early to determine if the meeting will take place this week. I have the impression that it will not, but we must continue to hope for a high-level meeting as soon as possible.
Voice of America: Mr. Kurti stated in a press conference that he is ready to present a project for the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities. However, he said that both parties are far apart in terms of the form this association will take in the future and that it does not make sense to negotiate now. He suggests that parties first agree on the main principles of the association, and then he can present a proposal. What is your response to this?
Gabriel Escobar: There is no need to wait for this. We should not wait for this. Our position is that it should be a European model. Therefore, our position, the American position, has always been that the model of the association should be such that it offers municipal services to a Serbian language national minority. That’s it – municipal services. It should not interfere with the Constitution of Kosovo, its legal structure, or its functionality. The EU Special Representative has presented 16 different European models that could work for Kosovo. In none of those models can a neighboring country enter the borders of another country and hinder its functionality. So, we are not seeking a mathematical compromise between two positions. We are seeking a European version. That is all it needs.
Voice of America: In recent months, there have been high tensions between Kosovo and Serbia. This coincided with the change in US policy, exerting more pressure on Pristina. How do you assess this?
Gabriel Escobar: I think this is misinformation. Let me present it like this; everything we have done in the past 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 recognize the election results, even though they had only 3% turnout. Serbia wanted us to declare them illegal. Serbia wanted us not to recognize the authority of the mayors. We recognized them. When the mayors were inaugurated, they were mayors to us. Now we find ourselves in a difficult position where these mayors cannot claim to represent the communities they are mayors of. That’s why we need new elections. But at the same time, we accepted that these mayors have the legal authority to continue their municipal functions. However, we had asked one thing, for Kosovo not to try to take control of the 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, floods, and even due to COVID and 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 escalate tensions by trying to go there by force. Yet they acted that way. So, on the one hand, everything we have done has acknowledged the legitimacy of Kosovo. We have always sided with them in all these disagreements.
Voice of America: In Kosovo, they would say that even Vučić did nothing to reduce tensions, but he did not face such pressure.
Gabriel Escobar: That’s not true. So, as I said, he opposed everything we did in the past 90 days. Yet we continued forward. We also asked Serbia to withdraw its forces from the border unilaterally, without conditions; to encourage Serbs to return unconditionally. And he agreed to both of these. So, it’s not clear what else we need, except to move forward with dialogue.
Voice of America: And if Mr. Kurti doesn’t listen to you? What will happen?
Gabriel Escobar: This is not an issue between the US and Kurti. It 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 unpredictable way. That’s all we are asking for.
