Serbia-Kosovo: talks fail, EU blames Pristina
Pristina wants some 10,000 Kosovo Serbs whose vehicles have Serbian-issued plates to replace them with Republic of Kosovo plates.
Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti on June 10, 2022 in Pristina.
AFP
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti failed to reach an agreement in Brussels on Monday to settle the dispute over license plates that has soured relations between the two countries, a failure blamed by the EU on Pristina.
This meeting took place in a context of growing tensions between Serbia and its former province with a majority Albanian population, to the chagrin of the EU, mediator since 2011 of negotiations to normalize their ties.
“After many hours of discussion, the two parties have not reached a solution. For the sake of transparency, it must be said that we made a proposal (…) which President Vucic accepted, unlike – unfortunately – Prime Minister Kurti”, declared Josep Borrell, head of EU diplomacy.
Pristina wants some 10,000 Kosovo Serbs whose vehicles have plates issued by Serbia to replace them with Republic of Kosovo plates, saying it is ready to impose fines on offending vehicles as of Tuesday.
‘Clearly impossible’ claims
In Brussels, “the Serbian side was absolutely constructive” while opposite, we “did not want to accept anything”, adding demands “clearly impossible”, lambasted Aleksandar Vucic on the Serbian channel Pink. “It is now clear who wanted to safeguard peace and stability, and who did not,” he added.
The United States said it was “disappointed” at the lack of an agreement and called on Kosovo’s prime minister to seek a “compromise that is fair”.
In the absence of an agreement, Josep Borrell “solemnly” called on both parties to de-escalate: “I now expect Kosovo to immediately suspend the procedures related to license plates in the north (of the country), and I calls on Serbia to stop issuing naming plates for towns located in Kosovo.” “This will provide room for maneuver and time to find a lasting solution to the problem of license plates, in the context of the normalization of bilateral relations, which remains our essential objective”, insisted the European official. Aleksandar Vucic claimed to have accepted this request.
“The final agreement on the full normalization of relations, centered on mutual recognition, involves various other issues such as license plates. We cannot solve one without the other”, objected Albin Kurti in front of the press. “We cannot be irresponsible, meeting as heads of state to discuss license plates only and not the normalization of relations,” he argued.
Josep Borrell’s spokesman, Peter Stano, clarified that the EU “continues to fully support the proposal” on the normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo, but that the immediate priority is to take measures to “avoid an escalation”.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expressed his “disappointment”, calling for “responsibility and pragmatic solutions”. “Escalation must be avoided,” he also tweeted, adding that the NATO force in Kosovo, Kfor, “remained vigilant”.
Latest development to date: Serbs in northern Kosovo have resigned from public institutions in protest, in particular the police force, generating “a dangerous security vacuum”, alarmed Josep Borrell.
Belgrade has never recognized the independence proclaimed by its former province in 2008. The 120,000 Kosovo Serbs, a third of whom live in the north of the territory, do not recognize the authority of Pristina.
AFP
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