The US emissary for the Western Balkans has softened his stance on the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti.
A few days after threatening to find "alternative allies" and that "one man" does not stop the formation of the Association, Esobar said that Prime Minister Kurti and Kosovo are partners of the USA.
"Mr. Kurti is our partner. Sometimes he is a difficult partner, but he is a partner. Kosovo is our partner. Serbia is our partner. So, in the future, we want to benefit from the good relations we have with Kosovo and from the improvement of the relations we have with Serbia", said Escobar.
In an interview for the Institute for Politics and Economics in Serbia, Escobar has shown what are the preconditions for the escalation of the situation in the north.
He said that Kosovo should form the Association and Serbia should not prevent Kosovo from joining international organizations.
"So we have to find a way to immediately escalate the processes, to escalate the situation and immediately return with the focus on the implementation of the Ohrid Agreement. For Serbia, this means putting an end to Kosovo's blockade towards European and international integration. For Kosovo, this means the beginning of the implementation process of the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority. We have to work in both these areas", said Escobar.
During the week, pressure for the Kosovo Association also came from the states of the region.
The Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, has sent a draft to the leaders of Germany and France for the formation of the Association, for which he was also criticized by the Government.
Even the president of Montenegro, Jakov Milatovic, has spoken about the situation created in the north.
In an interview for "Der Standard", he said that Kosovo should form the Association, but first the new elections should be announced in the northern municipalities.
"The attack on KFOR soldiers is absolutely unacceptable. After all, these soldiers have done a pretty good job in protecting the heritage of the Serbian Church in Kosovo, it was also an important link for the people of Montenegro, as most people in Montenegro are also believers of Serbian Orthodox Church. To improve the situation, new elections are needed in the northern municipalities of Kosovo. And Kosovo should establish the Association for northern municipalities", said Milatović.
The professor of political sciences, Dritëro Arifi, says that it is not yet known whether the political spectrum in Kosovo is ready for the formation of the Association, but its formation would relax relations with the USA and the EU.
"This is the only problem of Kosovo, the others are consequences. The others are not Kosovo's problem, they are problems which the West does not have a language to solve Kosovo's problem. Yes, Kosovo has only one obligation to form the Association, if we wish to form it, but this depends on the political will of the political elite. So, if there is will, Kosovo recovers all the problems it has, especially with the USA and the EU", said Arifi.
The first deputy prime minister, Besnik Bislimi, who has the dialogue in his portfolio, has said that Kosovo should not become a victim of Serbia's rapprochement with the EU and the US, which is coming as a result of the signals that President Aleksandar Vučić has given to departure with Russia.
Kosovo's request for sequencing, as Bislimi has said, is that the dialogue should go parallel to the points that are most difficult for Kosovo and Serbia - the establishment of the Association in Kosovo and for Serbia the implementation of the points of the agreement by which Serbia recognizes Kosovo "de facto".
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