Lajcak on Vucic, Kurti: Their personalities, approaches provide little space to move forward

“I would say that the dialogue is currently at a crossroads,” Lajcak told the Sbunker podcast, adding that there can be no normalization of relations if there is a conflict on the ground, reported KoSSev.

He assessed that last year’s Ohrid agreement between Serbia and Kosovo gives a clear framework for the way forward and paves the way for negotiating the final legally-binding agreement between the two.

“To get there, both parties need to fully implement what was agreed in Ohrid and, unfortunately, this is not happening for the time being,” noted the EU special representative.

He added that the tensions in Kosovo, violent escalations and conflicts on the ground are forcing him, his team and the dialogue to resort to crisis management and de-escalation, instead of focusing on the way forward and normalization of relations.

“It is for the parties to choose normalization, to choose the dialogue, to choose the implementation of the agreement. The agreement is there, and I am quite convinced that it is the best deal that Kosovo and Serbia can get, and this is the ticket to the future. So what is really most important is to choose progress on the path to normalization,” he emphasized.

Diametrically opposite approaches

Ahead of a new meeting between Vucic and Kurti, Lajcak talked about their approaches to the dialogue. He said they “represent the positions and interests of their people,” but that “what is challenging for us as facilitators is that they have a diametrically opposite approach to the dialogue.”

“Also, their personalities and approaches to this process did not really provide much space to move forward,” he stressed.

The facilitator in the dialogue said that, if the process is to succeed, the dialogue on normalization has to be based on a compromise.

“If anyone believes that there can be a 100 percent victory for one party and defeat for the other party – we will not get anywhere,” said Lajcak.

He noted that both parties need to present the agreement to their public and to their parliaments.

“That means it really has to be a document that both Kosovo and Serbia can sell back at home,” Lajcak explained, adding that, however, this understanding is missing in the discussions.

“Therefore, we have not progressed as far and as fast as I would have wished.”

“Courage to take the first step”

What is missing is the implementation of the agreements, that is, “the courage to take the first step,” emphasized Lajcak, adding that the facilitators are making it clear that the implementation will be transparent, measurable, and based on the principle “you need to do something in order to get something.”

Regarding the Community/Association of Serb-majority Municipalities (CSM), Lajcak said it was agreed as the key element around which the normalization process is to be built.

Asked to comment on the statute for the CSM proposed by the European Union, that is, on Kosovo’s refusal to establish the CSM, Lajcak recalled the 2013 Brussels Agreement.

“It was agreed long before my time and long before both President Vucic’s and Prime Minister Kurti’s terms in office. It was agreed that the key element around which the normalization process would be built is the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities,” said Lajcak, noting that this refers to the Brussels Agreement of 2013, which has been ratified by the Kosovo Parliament.