Vučić receives Sorensen: Association, prerequisite for normalization

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić met on Tuesday in Belgrade with the European Union envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Peter Sorensen.

In an Instagram post after the meeting, Vučić said his first meeting with the new envoy for dialogue was "open and fair."

He said he briefed Sorensen, who visited Kosovo last week, "about the problems facing Serbs" there.

"I expressed particular concern about the difficult position in which Serbs are located due to Pristina's numerous escalating, unilateral and violent moves," Vučić wrote.

The Serbian president accused Kosovo of "continuously obstructing the dialogue process," reiterating that the establishment of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo "is a prerequisite for the start of a fundamental normalization of relations."

In October 2023, the then envoys of the EU, the US, France, Germany and Italy offered Kosovo and Serbia a draft statute for the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities, but Kosovo has refused to establish it.

Kosovo's Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, has refused to send this draft statute for review to the Constitutional Court of Kosovo - an action that would mark the first step towards the creation of the Association.

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said on March 21 that the draft statute of the Association drafted by the EU is not in line with the Constitution of Kosovo and that she had also told Sorensen this during his visit to Pristina on March 17.

The Association of Serb-majority Municipalities provides for a certain level of self-management for Kosovo Serbs.

Vučić said that he expects the European Union to increase its commitment in order to maintain the credibility of the dialogue and maintain an impartial role in this process.

He added that Serbia's position is that only constructive dialogue and compromise solutions can contribute to long-term peace and stability in the Western Balkans.

Sorensen – on his first visit to Kosovo since taking office – met with institutional leaders and opposition representatives last week.

In Pristina, the European envoy said that his priority is to secure meetings between the two states.

"Dialogue is about ensuring that there are meetings. Whether this means compromises or not is up to the parties to determine," Sorensen said in Pristina.

The last meeting in Brussels, mediated by the European Union, between Kosovo and Serbia, was held on December 17 of last year.

Kosovo and Serbia have been dialogued under the mediation of the European Union since 2011. In recent years, the dialogue has been conducted at a high level, between the leaders of the two countries, and at the level of chief negotiators.

The agreement, which has not been signed, is legally binding on the parties, said the bloc, which has accused Kosovo and Serbia of failing to implement the pact./ REL