U.S. special envoy revealed what Kurti will do tomorrow

U.S. special envoy revealed what Kurti will do tomorrow

U.S. Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, stated that he did not receive assurances from Kurti about his commitment to the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina.

In an interview for Voice of America, Escobar stated that he did not receive assurances from Kurti in a recent telephone conversation that he was committed to the implementation of the normalization agreement and its annex, which Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti announced on Monday on the social network X (Twitter).

"When it comes to the Kosovo side, it means presenting the draft of the Statute of the Community of Municipalities with a Serbian majority. Kurti did not commit to doing that. In essence, what he committed to was attending the meetings in Brussels and nothing more," Escobar said.

The USA asked Belgrade and Pristina, ahead of the next round of dialogue on September 14, to commit to concrete obligations in connection with the agreement on the normalization of relations between the two sides, as well as the annex on its implementation.

Escobar indicated that the consequences that could arise if Belgrade and Pristina miss the opportunity to normalize relations are already visible, and that the measures introduced by the EU are related to the impossibility of progress in some of the mechanisms of the accession process.

"I think the EU will want to see clear signals of interest in the implementation of the normalization agreement while considering the extent to which Serbia has progressed in the accession process," said Escobar.

According to him, the US continues to strongly support the EU-led dialogue.

"We want progress within the framework of the dialogue and the Ohrid Agreement to be achieved during this year," said Escobar, stating that some kind of progress is expected on Thursday. Escobar assessed that the Ohrid Agreement is wide-ranging and historic and that it is a true agreement on normalization by European standards, but also that it provides an opportunity for progress in European integration.

Escobar pointed out that by fulfilling the provisions of the Ohrid Agreement and resolving open issues, all challenges including elections, license plates, identity cards and other topics that could be a source of escalation can be resolved.

Escobar emphasized that all parties agree, including Pristina, that the turnout of only three percent in the elections in the north of Kosovo and Metohija is not a long-term solution for the municipal authorities.

US diplomat said that the Albanian mayors of the municipalities in the north of Kosovo decided to take over some of the municipal buildings without coordination with the international community.

"We pointed out to the Kosovo authorities that there is no need to escalate tensions by placing mayors in those buildings," said Escobar.

Escobar pointed out that the international community is also concerned about the actions of the so-called special Kosovo police units, the expropriation of land and the planned eviction of some of the institutions from government buildings led by Serbs.

"We will continue to ask the Government of Kosovo to stay in close contact with NATO and KFOR on the ground. It is important to prevent any kind of wrong assessments," Escobar pointed out.

US diplomat indicated that, if the authorities in Pristina want to hold new elections in which Serbs would participate, the resignation of the Albanian mayor is a faster and better way than the solution that includes a petition and which has never been implemented so far, and which was proposed by the so-called Kosovo authorities.

"We urge Serbian community to participate in the vote, when the elections are announced. How this will be achieved remains for the parties to discuss. Definitely, I think it would be faster with resignations. We are monitoring the situation very carefully," concluded Escobar.