Leader of the Serb List Goran Rakić has once again stated the demands, fulfillment of which would enable the largest party of Serbs in Kosovo to participate in the elections, which the international community sees as a way out of the current crisis in the north.
He made these demands at a press conference in North Mitrovica after a meeting with Richard Grenell, the former Special Envoy of the United States for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue.
Rakić stated that the “(political) representatives and the Serbian people in the north” are requesting the withdrawal of special units of the Kosovo Police, amnesty for all arrested Serbs who participated in barricades or protests, and the resignation of Albanian mayors in the northern municipalities of the country.
“And, of course, the condition for all these demands is the formation of the Association of Serb Majority Municipalities,” Rakić said at the joint press conference with Richard Grenell.
The Serb List held the meeting with Grenell in the north of Kosovo, where tensions have escalated in recent weeks. Meanwhile, Serbs boycotted the local elections on April 23 and do not recognize the results of these elections.
Grenell stated that the international community needs to engage in dialogue with Serbian political representatives and that “de-escalation does not happen in Brussels”.
On Thursday, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbia President Aleksandar Vučić were in Brussel, at the request of the European Union, which is mediating the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.
“The international community should come and listen to these people. I hear a lot of concerns here today, and I believe that a way could be found if the international community were to come (to engage in dialogue),” Grenell said.
He served as the Ambassador for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue during the administration of Donald Trump, who appointed him to that position.
Approximately one year after Joe Biden was elected President of the United States, Gabriel Escobar took over the relations between Kosovo and Serbia. He was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs at the Department of State.
Grenell said it was “disappointing” to see that the relationship between Kosovo and Serbia had deteriorated in the past three years.
“We were on a good path towards economic normalization, and I think they want peace and good employment here,” he said.
During Grenell’s tenure, Kosovo and Serbia signed the Washington Agreement on the normalization of economic relations.
In February this year, President Aleksandar Vučić decorated Grenell on the occasion of Statehood Day. In his speech, Vučić stated that Grenell was “one of the few who tried to have a balanced approach and listen to Serbia”.
