President Aleksandar Vucic told reporters in Chisinau on Thursday that the Kosovo delegation refused to meet with the Serbian delegation at the European Political Community summit.
Vucic told Serbian reporters that “Serbia always wants to talk” and added that Pristina’s decision did not meet with approval from other leaders at the summit.
“The situation in Kosovo was the main topic at the summit along with Ukraine. Both (Kosovo President Vjosa) Osmani and I spoke. They did not want a meeting with the Serbian delegation and that was not approved by anyone,” Vucic said. “I always carefully interpret the stands of the great powers but I think that things are becoming increasingly clear even to people who do not always agree with us,” he said.
The Serbian President said that he does not know when he could meet with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti. “We need an open discussion and I believe we can maintain the peace in the region and that is in the interest of Europe as well as us,” he said.
“I had a short, good conversation with Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski. Why shouldn’t I shake the hand of the man who does not recognize the independence of Kosovo, he said.
Vucic said that he had an “open conversation” with European Union High Representative Josep Borrell on what he said is the complex situation in Kosovo and “the consequences of the irresponsible behavior” of the Pristina authorities.
“I said that we approached all open questions during the dialogue with Pristina responsible, conscientiously and seriously and added that we patiently and calmly responded to all unilateral steps and provocation,” Vucic said in an Instagram post.
Vucic said that he had a number of “very important” bilateral meetings on the margins of the summit including with the Prime Ministers of Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg as well as with French President Emanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholtz.
“The region should enter into a new relationship with the EU, while the conflict in northern Kosovo must be resolved side by side with the democratic world, ending the threatening absurdity and finalizing the agreement on normalization of mutual recognition between Kosovo and Serbia,” Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama said in a Facebook post after he and Vucic met with Von der Leyen.
Vucic said that he and the Prime Ministers of Albania and North Macedonia, Edi Rama and Dmitar Kovacevski asked for more EU funding for the Western Balkans. “I told European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel that the difference in funding for EU member states and the countries of the Western Balkans is huge and should be reduced,” he said.
The Serbian President said that he called for a summit of the European Political Community in Belgrade in a year or two.
