Kosovo-Serbia Dialogue/ Bislimi: Meeting with Sorensen was planned to be trilateral

Acting Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, Besnik Bislimi, said on Monday after a meeting with Peter Sorensen, the European Union's envoy for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, that the June 2 meeting was planned to be trilateral, but the Serbian team faced delays while traveling to Brussels.

Speaking after the meeting, Bislimi said that in his first meeting in Brussels with Sorensen, he discussed the approach that the European official will have in the upcoming phases of talks at the level of chief negotiators, as well as those at the high level, under the leadership of the EU's chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas.

"In the bilateral meeting, we raised a number of topics for which we think it is very important to have a response from Brussels, or a solution, for example, we have the case of integrated border management where there are major bottlenecks on the part of Serbia. We also discussed a very important process that we have - supporting Albanians in the Presevo Valley through aid for small farmers," Bislimi said, among other things, according to a press release issued by his office.

In an effort to revive dialogue between the two countries, Kallas stayed in Pristina and Belgrade in May of this year, calling for improved relations, because only then can there be a European future for both countries.

Serbia enjoys the status of a candidate country for membership in the European bloc, while Kosovo does not, despite having applied.

The two countries have been negotiating in Brussels to normalize relations since 2011, with EU mediation. They have signed a number of agreements, but not all of them have been implemented.

Asked by journalists whether these meetings make sense, since Kosovo is currently in an "institutional vacuum", Bislimi acknowledged the difficulties, although he said that there are some topics where Kosovo could benefit, if there is constructiveness or a constructive approach from Serbia.

"It would not be right if we lost these chances because there are obstacles in Pristina in the constitution of the Assembly," he said, among other things.

Currently, Kosovo has an acting government, after the Assembly failed to convene for the 25th time in a row on June 2.

The Vetëvendosje Movement, which won the most votes in the February 9 parliamentary elections, and the parties that were in opposition in the previous legislature, have not reached an agreement on the method of voting for the new speaker of parliament, and on the LVV's proposal for this position, Albulena Haxhiu, considering her a divisive figure.

The deputies must elect the president and five vice presidents to finally constitute the new Assembly.

Only after the constitution of the Assembly can the new Government be formed.

Diplomatic representatives of the QUINT countries [United States, Great Britain, Italy, France and Germany] as well as the Head of the European Union Office in Kosovo, met a few days ago with the acting Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, requesting the rapid formation of institutions to ensure the well-being and prosperity of the citizens of Kosovo./ REL