The Democratic League of Kosovo has assessed that Besnik Bislimi does not have a mandate to represent Kosovo in the dialogue with Serbia.
Bislimi met with the European Union's envoy for dialogue, Peter Sorensen, in Brussels on Thursday. A trilateral meeting with Petar Petkovic has now begun. In a reaction on Facebook, the LDK said that the government's decision to send Bislimi is unjustified and without civic and institutional legitimacy.
"The February 9 elections gave a clear message from the citizens of the Republic of Kosovo. This political will does not give Mr. Bislim a mandate to represent Kosovo in such an important and decisive process. Representation in the dialogue can only be based on legitimate institutions that emerged from the elections and are supported by the sovereign," the LDK response states.
The LDK has said that the dialogue is a sensitive process and cannot be reduced to unilateral decisions by a government in office, which does not have the necessary majority in the Assembly.
"Such actions damage Kosovo's international credibility and risk undermining our Euro-Atlantic path. Kosovo needs worthy, strong and above all legitimate representation. The Democratic League of Kosovo will firmly defend this principle, emphasizing that the dialogue cannot be guided by party improvisations of a government without a mandate," the LDK statement concludes.
Vetëvendosje received over 40 percent of the vote in the February 9 elections. However, the Government continues to function in office, due to delays in the constitution of the Assembly.
Bislimi calls LDK's stance "stupid": I have a mandate from the Government
Chief Negotiator Besnik Bislimi has responded to the Democratic League of Kosovo, which said that he does not have a mandate to represent Kosovo in the dialogue.
After meeting with mediator Peter Sorensen and Serbian chief negotiator Petar Petkovic, Bislimi said that any recent stance by the LDK "is illogical."
"It is a bit interesting that this stupidity has also reached Brussels. I am the acting Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Kosovo, charged, among other things, with the topic of dialogue. The government gave me the mandate and the government can take it away. The LDK did not give it to me and it cannot take it away. Everything else is illogical, similar to most of the positions of this political entity and other entities that we have been encountering in recent months," he said after the meeting.