Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić called his meeting with the Big Five – where they discussed the situation in Kosovo – in Belgrade on Saturday ‘difficult’ before adding that he would go to Brussels on Thursday or Friday.
Vučić met with the European envoy Miroslav Lajčak, the American envoy for the Western Balkans Gabriel Escobar, as well as advisors for foreign and security policy to the President of the Republic of France and the Chancellor of the Federal of the Republic of Germany, Emanuel Bonn and Jens Plettner and the diplomatic advisor of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Italy, Francesco Talo.
The Big Five had previously visited Pristina, where Lajčak said he had a plan for the dialogue’s continuation but did not divulge any details.
Vučić called the meeting difficult and announced that he expects to have important meetings in Brussels in the coming days. Lajčak spoke to Serbian media and repeated that Belgrade and Priština need to work on de-escalation and relation normalisation.
“We expect both sides to start fulfilling obligations from both old and new agreements. The dialogue will be on the agenda of Monday’s foreign ministers of European countries meeting, but will also be discussed by European leaders later in the week”, Lajčak said.
Vučić told TV Pink that any discussion on Kosovo “is difficult today”.
“Basically, the politics are such that Pristina always has the upper hand because 22 of 27 EU countries, the most powerful ones, have recognised Kosovo’s independence and the US. Then you see how things are. But I believe we will find a way out”, Vučić said.
His comments are concerning as the ultimate goal of the ongoing dialogue is the mutual recognition of Kosovo’s independence.
He announced that he would go to Brussels on Thursday or Friday, where the topic of discussion will be Kosovo. Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić could also be there, returning from New York, but for a different reason, he said.
Kosovo will be one of the topics at the summit of EU leaders on October 26 and 27, where conclusions on the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue are expected to be adopted. According to RTS, eleven EU countries have requested sanctions against Serbia if the investigation into Banjska proves the involvement of Belgrade.
The European Commission has already drafted measures against Serbia if it does not collaborate with a full investigation into the 24 September terrorist attack or if links to state involvement are fully proven.
(Euractiv.rs | Bojana Zimonjić Jelisavac)
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