Serbia's Chief Negotiator: There will be a trilateral meeting in Brussels today

Serbia's chief negotiator, Petar Petkovic, has announced that he will hold a meeting with Kosovo's chief negotiator, Besnik Bislimi, in Brussels on Tuesday, under the mediation of the European bloc's envoy for dialogue between the two neighboring states, Peter Sorensen.

"Working atmosphere in the Belgrade delegation in Brussels ahead of direct talks between Belgrade and Pristina under the mediation of the European Union," Serbia's chief negotiator, Petar Petkovic, wrote on Instagram.

The office of Kosovo's chief negotiator, Besnik Bislimi, did not respond to Radio Free Europe's questions regarding the trilateral meeting in Brussels.

The June 10 meeting follows bilateral meetings that Kosovo's Deputy Prime Minister, Besnik Bislimi, and Chief Negotiator Petkovic held with Sorensen on June 2 in Brussels.

The meeting also comes after, according to Bislim, a planned trilateral meeting on June 2nd failed because the Serbian team faced delays while traveling to Brussels.

Bislimi said that in his meeting with Sorensen last week in Brussels, 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.

"We also discussed a very important process that we have - supporting Albanians in the Presheva Valley through assistance for small farmers," Bislimi said, according to a press release issued by his office.

However, Petkovic, the director of the Office for Kosovo in the Serbian Government, said that he has made it clear to the European Union that Presevo and Bujanovac cannot be a topic in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.

"Presheva and Bujanovac are issues of central Serbia, of our laws and Constitution, and there can be no discussion of this within the framework of the dialogue – despite the efforts of [acting Kosovo Prime Minister Albin] Kurti and [acting Deputy Prime Minister Besnik] Bislimi to introduce these topics," he said after meeting with Sorensen last week.

Meanwhile, in an effort to revive dialogue between the two countries, Kallas stayed in Pristina and Belgrade last month, where she called 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.

Kosovo has an incumbent government, after the Assembly failed to convene for the 29th time in a row on June 9.

The Vetevendosje 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 the 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