Escobar expects Pristina proposal for CSM by May 2

In an interview with the Voice of America service in Albanian, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State said there has been progress regarding this issue and a major change in the attitude of the Kosovo Government and in particular of the Prime Minister, to accept this legal obligation.

It is an existing obligation under the Brussels Agreement and it was very difficult for the Government to accept it as mandatory, but now they are considering it as an obligation, they have agreed with it and have said publicly what the framework and parameters of the Community should be, and we agree with these parameters, Escobar said.

The senior State Department official said the United States will recognize Sunday's election in northern Kosovo even if the Belgrade-backed Serb List boycotts it, noting the boycott does not define the elections.

He said the US and he personally intervened asking the Serb List to participate in the vote.

However, Escobar said the boycott should not delay the formation of the CSM and stressed that the obligation is existing and immediate, and that, regardless of who is in power, the Community of Serb Municipalities must be formed.