The United States Department of State has commended the relentless efforts of the European Union’s Special Representative, Miroslav Lajčák, in the Kosovo-Serbia negotiations.
This statement was made in response to a request from Voice of America for a reaction to statements made by Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti, who accused Lajčák of bias and being against Pristina during last week’s meeting between the parties.
Prime Minister Kurti had mentioned that he had sent letters concerning this matter to key Western countries, where he accused Lajčák, among other things, of “distorting the process”.
In the response addressed to Voice of America, the spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State neither confirmed nor denied whether the letter had reached Washington but stated:
“We (the United States) remain closely engaged with Kosovo, Serbia, and EU partners in the EU-facilitated dialogue. We appreciate and acknowledge the tireless efforts of the EU’s Special Representative, Miroslav Lajčák”.
The spokesperson also expressed disappointment regarding the lack of progress in the September 14 meeting and emphasized that the EU-facilitated dialogue is the only way forward for Kosovo and Serbia.
“We expect both countries to take their obligations under the agreements on the path to normalization seriously, which they reached earlier this year. Time is running out. We want to see progress on existing and prior commitments based on dialogue (facilitated by the EU) and the Ohrid Agreement, including the establishment of the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities”.
The U.S. Department of State spokesperson concluded the response by stating that the United States is fully aligned with QUINT partner countries in supporting the dialogue process. They added that the United States would consult both internally and with their European partners on future steps.
On Monday, during a press conference in Pristina, Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti accused the EU’s Special Envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajčák, of not being “impartial” in last week’s meeting between the parties.
He stated that there had been a clear positioning by the mediator against Kosovo in general and against the Basic Agreement in particular.
“Either we implement the Basic Agreement in its entirety, or we cannot implement only what Serbia desires. This logic has died, and an independent Republic of Kosovo cannot, should not, and will not tread this path,” Kurti declared.
Prime Minister Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić failed to agree on steps for implementing the agreement to normalize relations last week. However, European officials said that it was Prime Minister Kurti who had not accepted a proposal for “simultaneous fulfillment” of obligations arising from the agreement reached in Brussels and in Ohrid.
Prime Minister Kurti announced that he had sent letters to key Western capitals to clarify the last meeting and accused Lajčák of “distorting the process by not focusing on the full, immediate, and unconditional implementation of the Basic Agreement and its implementing annex, but by allowing for cart-before-the-horse solutions, the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities, and then we’ll see”.
The leaders of the two countries met in Brussels amid high tensions and calls from Western diplomats to avoid actions that could spark a resurgence of violence in the region. Tensions flared up in late May when Albanian mayors of northern municipalities elected in the April 23 elections, boycotted by Serbs, were installed in their offices with the support of the police.
The European Union seeks to reduce tensions through a plan that envisages the suspension of police operations in the north, the relocation of municipal mayors to alternate offices, and the announcement of early elections with the unconditional participation of Kosovo Serbs.
