Serbia asks NATO not to advance the status of Kosovo

The delegation of the Parliament of Serbia, which participated in the meeting of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Sofia, through a letter, asked this Assembly not to give the Kosovo Assembly the status of an associate member.

The Serbian delegation met with the head of the American delegation to NATO, Michael Turner, who was handed a letter by the Speaker of the Serbian Parliament, Ana Brnabic. Through the letter, Serbia called on the members of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly not to approve the advancement of Kosovo's status from observer to associate member, it was said in the announcement of the Serbian Parliament on May 26.

The NATO Parliamentary Assembly, where Kosovo aims to advance its status, is institutionally separate from NATO, but serves as an important link between NATO and member countries' parliaments.

It consists of 281 delegates from all 32 NATO member countries.

In addition to them, delegates from 9 associated countries, 4 associated Mediterranean countries, as well as 8 parliamentary observer delegations also participate in its activities.

Associate members may present resolutions and amendments to resolutions. Also, they can serve as special rapporteurs associated in committees, to present their perspectives in NATO-Parliamentary Assembly reports.

However, they do not have the right to vote on the Assembly's reports, resolutions or leadership, nor do they contribute to its budget.

Currently, there are nine associate members - among them Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Assembly of Kosovo, for years, has been an observer delegation with two seats. With the increase in the level of representation, the participating Kosovar delegation would also expand.

Meanwhile, in the announcement of the Serbian Parliament, it was said that granting such a status would represent a reward for Pristina, which, according to Belgrade, is doing everything to hinder the dialogue that is mediated by the European Union and to avoid obligations from the agreements reached. in Brussels.

As stated in the announcement, the deputy head of the Serbian delegation, Natasha Jovanović, reminded the NATO Parliamentary Assembly of the complexity of the issue based on the situation in Kosovo "since it is a question of secession of one side of a part of the territory, of a state of internationally recognized". According to Jovanović, territorial issues should be resolved through an agreement.

Serbia also accused Kosovo of refusing to implement all the agreements reached in the dialogue in Brussels and, according to Belgrade, 11 years after the agreement reached, it is not establishing the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority.

Kosovo and Serbia have reached agreements on the Association in 2013 and 2015. Despite constant calls from the European Union and the United States, Prishtina has not yet taken steps to form the Association.

Kosovo missed the chance to become a member of the Council of Europe organization in mid-May because the Association was set as a condition. Kosovo, through a letter sent to this organization, said that it will send a draft statute for the Association to the Constitutional Court for review, in exchange for admission to this human rights organization.

The chief diplomat of Kosovo, Donika Gërvalla, said that the draft statute would be inspired by the one presented by the German organization Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, and not the draft statute that was presented to Kosovo and Serbia by the EU in October last year.

However, Kosovo was not included in the agenda of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe that was held on May 16 and 17 in Strasbourg. However, the Council of Europe has said that it is considering how to proceed with the case of Kosovo./REL