After 12 hours of negotiations in Ohrid mediated by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the EU, Josep Borel and the Union's special envoy for the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, Miroslav Lajcak, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti reached late last night agreement on the implementation of the agreement reached on February 27 in Brussels between Serbia and Kosovo.

As Borel clarified after the end of the dialogue, the implementation of the agreement means practical steps that should be done, when, who and how.

That, Borrell said, comes after long and difficult negotiations. Pointing to certain details of the talks, Borel emphasized that the Kosovo side agreed, through the mediation of the EU, to immediately start a dialogue for the establishment of a special agreement that would guarantee the self-government of the Serbian communities in Kosovo.

Borrell emphasized that what is accepted by both sides will become an integral part of their separate efforts in the process of rapprochement and accession to the EU. What was promised by Belgrade and Pristina will be a formal obligation on the way to the EU, and non-fulfillment will have negative consequences.

- I must emphasize that in order to open the way to the strategic goal of membership in the EU, Serbia and Kosovo must normalize relations, there is no way around it. And the Survey of this agreement is an important step for that path to become a reality, Borel pointed out.

Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski welcomed the agreement reached, stressing that it is a significant achievement and that peace, reconciliation and economic development are key prerequisites for accelerated progress for the entire Western Balkans towards the EU.

- I welcome the agreement reached today for the implementation of the agreement on the road map for the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, which will be an integral and binding part of the European path for both sides. I believe that today's agreement on the implementation of the annex to the agreement, including the agreement on the full implementation of the commitments from the previous dialogue agreements, is a significant achievement. Peace, reconciliation and economic development are key prerequisites for accelerated progress for the entire Western Balkans towards the EU, Prime Minister Kovacevski said in his short address.

The agreement was also welcomed by the American representative for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, noting that it is necessary for the establishment of peaceful and predictable relations between the two sides.

- It not only opens the doors for Euro-Atlantic integration of the two countries, but also opens the door to the region for a new era of peace, said Escobar

He thanked Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski and the Government for organizing the meeting.

– Without our friends and allies this would not have happened. This is another proof that North Macedonia is a reliable partner that helps the US and the EU achieve regional stability, said Escobar, announcing that the US will commit to help implement the agreement in the interest of both countries and the region, with the goal of peace. to become a reality in the Balkans.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, in turn, said that the agreement was a good step forward in a constructive atmosphere and both sides will start working on something.

- Of course it wasn't D-day, but I think it was okay, said Vucic, pointing out that several points were agreed which will become part of the negotiation framework for both sides and that one of the key ones which is important for the Serbian side, as he said, is that a community of Serbian municipalities in Kosovo should be formed immediately.

He announced that tomorrow he will present to the citizens of Serbia each of the points in the implementation plan, and from Monday that he will have consultations with all parliamentary groups in the Parliament.

Kosovo Prime Minister Alben Kurti stated that an agreement has been reached on the annex that will lead to the implementation of the basic agreement, but it remains for the European Union to find a mechanism to make the status of this agreement legally and internationally binding.

Kurti said that he came to Ohrid with the intention of signing the basic agreement with an annex, but that the Serbian side avoided signing it this time, just like at the last meeting in Brussels on February 27.

According to Kurti, the basic agreement de facto means mutual recognition of both parties

The meeting in Ohrid was a continuation of the discussion from February 27 in Brussels, where the text of the initial plan for the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina was agreed upon. The High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy of the EU, Josep Borel, and the Special Envoy of the Union for the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, Miroslav Lajcak, as mediators, are trying to bring Vucic and Kurti closer to the solutions proposed by the West in the direction of the road. towards the normalization of mutual relations.

Before the Ohrid meeting, a Brussels official expressed the expectation that the views on the implementation annex of the agreement, which is considered an integral part of the document, will be harmonized. - If that happens... then the Western Balkans will celebrate a big step forward on the way to the European Union, Borel said on Thursday in Tirana.

– The agreement will put their relations on a new, more sustainable basis and ensure that the dialogue will continue on its trajectory towards full normalization, Borrell said.

Referring to yesterday's high-level dialogue on the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina, Prime Minister Kovacevski emphasized in an interview with MIA that the fact that North Macedonia is hosting such a gathering is the biggest confirmation that at this moment the country is a factor of stability in the Balkans, which he confirmed it through membership in NATO, through the opening of negotiations with the European Union and through the fact that in probably the most difficult year for Europe after the Second World War, he is the chairman of the largest regional security organization - OSCE.

- This is a great honor, but also a responsibility for our country, Kovacevski said, adding that he expects the talks on the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia to result in the integration of the entire region into the European Union.

He pointed out from Ohrid that for this purpose difficult decisions are needed, as the country did with the Ohrid Framework Agreement, the Prespa Agreement, the Good Neighbor Agreement, the adoption of the negotiation framework with the EU.

- We have shown that a solution for progress in the country can only be achieved with an agreement, with diplomacy. And we believe that this is the only recipe and the only way for the entire region through dialogue and conversation to solve the challenges that the countries have between themselves and all together one day become member states of NATO and the EU, Kovacevski said.

President Stevo Pendarovski, who was also present in Ohrid, said that positive news at the end of this session of talks in Ohrid will be good for the entire region, not only for those parties that are involved in it.

Commenting on the meeting in Ohrid, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Bujar Osmani stated that the expectations from it are high, because such is the political momentum, expressing hope that an agreement will be reached, which will guarantee sustainable stability for the region.

The DUI leader also expressed hope for reaching an agreement after the meeting with Kosovo Prime Minister Kurti in Ohrid. Ali Ahmeti, who emphasized that it will still depend on both sides.

In their reviews of the meeting in Ohrid, the Western media assessed that the international community hopes for progress in the talks in an attempt to overcome decades of tension between the two sides.

AP in the text entitled "High stakes of the new talks between Serbia and Kosovo with the mediation of the EU" reports Borel's statement that now is the time for the leaders of Kosovo, Serbia and the entire Western Balkans to show courage and share the responsibility for the success of the process of accession to the EU in the region.

The agency writes that talks are focused on how to implement the proposed EU plan that requires both sides to maintain good neighborly relations, mutually recognize official documents and national symbols. If the plan is implemented, it would prevent Belgrade from blocking Pristina's bid for membership in the United Nations and other international organizations, but it does not require explicit mutual recognition of Kosovo and Serbia.

France Press, on the other hand, reports that the 11-point document states that neither side will resort to violence to resolve the dispute, nor will it try to prevent the other from joining the European Union or other international bodies, such as a key request from Kosovo.

Kosovo declared independence from Belgrade in 2008, which was recognized by most EU countries, with the exception of Greece, Spain, Romania, Slovakia and Cyprus. Since 2011, Serbia and Kosovo have been engaged in the dialogue initiated and led by Brussels. In 2013, the then prime ministers of the two countries, Ivica Dacic and Hashim Thaci, achieved the so-called Brussels Agreement, but many elements of it have remained unimplemented until today.

The main stumbling block in the process is the establishment of the Community of Serb-Majority Municipalities in Kosovo, which Pristina refuses to implement, fearing that it would create a Republika Srpska-like entity in the country, which would then jeopardize its functionality.

The meeting caused great interest among the media from the region and from all over the world, with 230 accredited journalists and cameramen from numerous media houses. During the holding of the meeting in the area of ​​Ohrid, appropriate security measures are in force, with physical and traffic security of the thoroughfares and other facilities.