Escobar: US expects Kosovo and Serbia to reach agreement, including recognition

Speaking to Pristina portal Reporteri prior to a visit to the region with European Union envoy Miroslav Lajcak, Escobar said that Pristina and Belgrade have to fulfill the obligations they accepted, including the forming of the Community of Serb Municipalities and the implementation of a Kosovo Constitutional Court ruling on land owned by the Visoki Decani Serbian Orthodox Church monastery.

Escobar said that he and Lajcak will discuss ways to promote the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue with political leaders in Kosovo and Serbia. According to him, the best way for to fulfill promises to their citizens is to give the EU-supported dialogue a priority. He said the current status quo is not working and voiced hope that the leaders in Belgrade and Pristina see the importance of moving forward instead of backward in terms of normalizing their relations.

He said that no one is asking Kosovo to compromise its sovereignty or territorial integrity.

Escobar said that it’s important to allow the Kosovo Serbs to vote in the coming elections but added that Kosovo has the right to define the conditions for the vote.