The EU Special Representative for the Serbia-Kosovo Dialogue, Miroslav Lajčák, acknowledged on Tuesday 15 June that the meeting between Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti on the same day had not been “easy”. The dialogue process will continue before the end of July.
“The two leaders had a very open and frank exchange about what they each want from the dialogue”, Lajčák said in a statement, adding that they had confirmed that “there is no alternative to normalising relations” between their countries.
Mr Vučić and Mr Kurti confirmed their commitment to work on a full normalisation of relations through the Dialogue, the Special Representative added.
The Serbian President gave a very negative assessment of the meeting. According to him, the two leaders have agreed on “absolutely nothing”. Mr Kurti “came to me and asked ‘When are you going to recognise independent Kosovo?’ I told him ‘never’, and he exploded”, Vučić said, as quoted by Balkan media, expressing concern about the “degree of irresponsibility we will have to face in the future”.
For his part, Mr Kurti deplored Serbia’s rejection of his proposals. These included the signing of a joint peace agreement, bilateral reciprocity between the two states following mutual recognition and the dismissal of the head of the Serbian Commission for Missing Persons, Veljko Odalovic, mainly due to his position as Chief of Staff of the Kosovo region during the war.
Ahead of the meeting, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, noted that the Dialogue was not easy, but that “this process and this sincere commitment by both parties” were “necessary” for the good of the people. “The dialogue and its results are the way to the European future of both sides”, he added. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)