Despite the possible suspension of the dialogue due to the elections in Serbia, institutions in Kosovo are being asked to actively engage in this topic.
The six-month period of 2022, according to those familiar with the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue process, should serve the Kurti Government to convince the United States of America and the European Union of the new approach and the need to change the course of the dialogue.
On the other hand, precisely for the future dynamics of the dialogue, a visit to Kosovo of the EU's special representative for the dialogue, Miroslav Lajçak, together with the American envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, is being announced at the beginning of February. However, such a visit has not been confirmed for KosovaPress by the EU spokesperson, Peter Stano.
The director of the EPIK Institute, Demush Shasha, tells KosovaPress that before the April elections in Serbia, there will be no progress in the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue.
Despite this, he has a message for the institutions in Kosovo.
also Dialogue always pending elections"There will be no progress before the elections in Serbia. This period should be used more for Kosovo's institutions to talk with our allies in the US and the EU to convince them of this new approach and new spirit within the framework that the new government insists on. I believe that these months should not be lost for Kosovo's institutions to convince our partners of the need to change the dialogue. Until now, we see that there is a gap between the approach of the new institutions in Kosovo and our international allies, as they are insisting on continuing the flow and dynamics of the dialogue as it has been until now", he says.
Based on past practices, Violeta Haxholli from the Democratic Institute of Kosovo (KDI) also expressed her pessimism about any possible meeting in the coming months.
"Serbia will go through an election process in April and no immediate development is expected until the election process there is over. However, the second part of the year, from May onwards, new developments and new dynamics can be expected regarding the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue process. We have seen that when there are election processes in Kosovo and Serbia, the dialogue is suspended for a while. The mediator gives time to that country to complete the electoral process, then continue with the discussions in the dialogue. This is done so that this topic does not affect the results of the election, or does not have any impact on these processes," adds Haxholli.
But Gazmir Raci, an expert on the dialogue process, thinks differently, who says that before the elections in Serbia, there may be a meeting in Paris, France, between the prime minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, and the Serbian president, Aleksandër Vučić.
In fact, he says that the EU's special representative for dialogue, Miroslav Lajçak, and the US deputy assistant secretary, Gabriel Escobar, may soon come to visit the region and Kosovo.
"I think we will have a new approach, but we have an impasse in the dialogue at the moment, due to the opposite attitudes we have between the parties. We also have the problem that Serbia has already entered the stage of elections at all levels and any possible meeting will be a problem. Even though there has been talk recently that there could be a meeting in Paris, but this is not confirmed and I expect the dialogue to continue after April", declares Raci.
However, such a visit is not confirmed by the EU spokesperson, Peter Stano.
also
The elections in the US and the EU are expected not to divert the focus from the dialogue
"If the EU special representative goes to see the counterparts in the region, the press release is issued by the relevant EU delegation on the ground, when it is appropriate", he says through a written answer to KosovaPress.
The Kosovo-Serbia dialogue has entered an impasse since last year. While in recent weeks there were tensions due to the banning of the Serbian referendum on the territory of Kosovo./KSP
