The meeting between the EU High Representative, Josep Borrell, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti and the President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, which took place in Ohrid on April 18, was heralded as a key event where both sides will agree on the disputed issues. in the European agreement that was given to them in February of this year, but also that nothing concrete will probably be signed at the meeting, but the implementation of the agreement by the two stakeholders will be discussed, under the supervision of the international community.

After the individual statements of the main actors of the meeting, Vucic (the first to give a statement), Kurti and Borel, the impressions of the numerous people interested in the outcome of the long day (the talks lasted more than 11 hours) were to some extent in a positive direction, that is, that the meeting still it was successful, given that someone there said that the conversations took place in a decent and positive tone. After the end of the meeting, the spokesperson for foreign policy of the European Commission, Peter Stano, announced on his Twitter account that the meeting has ended and that Josep Borel will address the public with more detailed information.

What seems to have gone unnoticed by the media is that instead of Borel, Serbian President Vucic was the first to make a statement to the media. Then followed Borel, and Kurti.

In a statement to the media, Vucic said, among other things, that "it is of great importance that the formation of the ZSO be a priority obligation in accordance with the previous agreements within the framework of the dialogue".

"Kosovo and Serbia have agreed on the Annex for the implementation of the Agreement on the Road to Normalization of Relations, Borel announced on Twitter after the end of the meeting, and that both sides have fully committed to respect all articles of the agreement and implement their respective obligations expediently and with good will.

"The basic agreement is a de facto recognition between Kosovo and Serbia. There are many things there, but today we can say that we have the annex and the accompanying implementation," he said, among other things Kurti.

The official website of the European External Action Service (EEAS) has published the content with the provisions of the Annex and which Kosovo and Serbia have accepted that any failure to fulfill their obligations under the Treaty, this Annex or past dialogue agreements may have direct negative consequences for their respective EU accession processes and the financial assistance they receive from the EU.

Kosovo: Kurti sarcastically from all sides, from traitor to executioner of "Western powers"

A large part of the Kosovo public (media, analysts, politicians) came out with their views on the performance of Prime Minister Kurti regarding the acceptance of the establishment of a "Community" of municipalities with a Serbian majority in Kosovo, with sharp criticism that he "does not work" for the Kosovo people and state, some say that it is a follower of the Western powers (the USA), and others (the opposition), that it leads an anti-Western policy.

The President of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), Dardan Molicaj stated that the agreement between Kurti and Vucic in Ohrid is harmful for Kosovo. He announced protests on March 25, and said they would demand Kurti's resignation.

Today, the Kosovo media described Kurti as very relaxed after the Ohrid meeting, that is, he is carrying out his daily activities (visiting school and meeting with EU ambassadors), but he did not make a statement to Kosovo journalists.

The former deputy leader of the first party in Kosovo, Democratic Movement of Kosovo (LDK) and university professor, Milazim Krasniqi, in his column "Kosovo and Ohrid between Syria, Ukraine and North Macedonia"he writes that today's politicians do not show the people that they are powerless in front of the big powers, who practically treat Kosovo as a protectorate, as a non-state agent and as a currency for fraud. They try to hide helplessness, incompetence and failure by spreading lies, and Albin Kurti is a champion at this.

Criticism of Kurti was not absent even from members of his "Vetevendosje" party.

Arber Zaimi, member of the party presidency, on his Facebook profile among other things, he wrote: 22 years ago in Ohrid, the "Ohrid Agreement" was signed, which ended the war in Macedonia. This is where we are today, in Ohrid, the Serbs are asking Kosovo for a territorial solution to the ethnic problems. The same lovers of the international community - "liberals", who then said that the principle "there is no territorial solution to ethnic problems" should be accepted, now say that "Community should be accepted".

Obviously, democracy rules in Vetvednosje, that is, freedom of expression is respected, even when it comes to views different from the practices of the party leader. (It is not known if Kurti read it, there is no reaction).

The former deputy of the Vetevendosje Movement, Phaton Topali, stated that Prime Minister Albin Kurti used the "Community" to come to power and used everyone for his personal goals.

On the other hand, as a wake-up call to all sincerely concerned, as well as to the daily commentators of every letter regarding the long-standing policies and non-policies regarding Serbian-Kosovo relations and attempts at solutions, the Kosovo political analyst and columnist in a column in the wake at the meeting in Ohrid, he gave them a real school lesson on how and why one should or should not understand and behave in relation to this Agreement.

"The past was like this: "historical agreements" were signed, and then anti-historical agreements were announced. In two or three years! The future can only be different if the government and the opposition in Kosovo realize that the agreement with Serbia was reached with a joint commitment to limit the damage caused in 2013 and 2015. The German-French proposal is not ideal, but not arrogantly rejected. Maybe this government signed it with one hand, and the opposition, if it was in power, would have signed it with both hands. And it is good for both sides to understand that due to the war in Ukraine, the Western world began to pressure Serbia to accept Kosovo as a neighbor on the basis of "sovereign equality of all states, respect for their independence, autonomy and territorial integrity", he writes among other things. Robely .

Serbia: Vucic changes his rhetoric according to the audience, Jeremic prepares for a referendum against the Agreement

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, unlike the statement in Ohrid immediately after the end of the meeting, the day after in Serbia said that he did not sign the normalization agreement with Kosovo because Serbia is an internationally recognized country and that he does not want to conclude "international legal agreements with Kosovo, which is not internationally legally recognized".

The former judge of the Constitutional Court of Serbia, Zoran Ivošević stated that under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, all contracts are valid whether signed or orally accepted.

Ivošević told the Beta agency that the statement of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucić that he did not sign anything in Brussels and Ohrid indicates that he did something he should not have done.

"Article 3 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties states that in the case of international agreements not concluded in writing, this does not affect the legal value of these agreements. This means that the oral agreements are valid and binding," said Ivošević, commenting on President Vucić's statement that he accepted the Agreement on the Normalization of Relations with Kosovo and the Annex for Implementation in Brussels and Ohrid, but that he did not sign those documents.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Ivica Dacic, stated that at the meeting in Ohrid, Serbia managed to protect its national interests with the wise policy of President Aleksandar Vucic, and added that Serbia must conduct dialogue and normalize relations with Pristina by sticking to its red lines.

The President of the People's Party, Vuk Jeremic, said today that calling a referendum on the Franco-German plan for Kosovo and Metohija is the only way to prevent a "jump into the abyss and national disaster" that leads to the dismemberment of Serbia, and then to the creation of a Great Albania and new conflicts in the Balkans. He says that with the verbal acceptance of the Scholz-Macron plan, great damage was done to national interests and Serbia was brought to the edge of the abyss in the context of territorial integrity, because it will be difficult to open the text that was once agreed upon.

"This is a great chance for Serbia and the region that we must not miss. The signing of the normalization agreement can lead to relaxation of relations between Serbia and Kosovo, better connectivity and economic cooperation, without which there is no European integration. "In a technical sense, the progress in the implementation of this agreement will be directly related to the requirements in the negotiation process, so it will certainly affect the speed of Serbia's movement towards the European Union," he says. Dragisha Miajic, coordinator for Chapter 35 of the EU National Convention.

A Balkan model for regional stability with unreasonable demands and wishes, with many unknowns and a long finish - what next?

The idea of ​​establishing a community of municipalities with a Serbian majority in Kosovo is a decade old, and with the current attempts to end this, to say the least, dangerous toy in the hands of the current government in Serbia, it has prompted different interpretations, but also desires, condemnations, acceptance , threats, but also the desire for a faster resolution, are in the name of regional stability, which has been demanded from the Balkan countries for decades.

The fact that a Balkan country (Serbia) in the recent past was the main factor for destabilization, and carried out genocide and terror on entire populations, should now become a factor and deliverer of that stability, by insisting the international community to fulfill its distant wishes for political presence through territorial representation in a state that is no longer part of it. For accepting the formation of the Community, the former government is the most guilty, which committed to the international community that it would be formed, and now it is the loudest against the same, when the time has come to really honor that agreement. By requesting the establishment of a Community of Serbs in Kosovo, Serbia practically recognizes the statehood of Kosovo, without doing so de facto. By accepting the formation of the Community, under reasonable conditions (certainly under strong pressure and conditions from the international), Kosovo's political top, i.e. the prime minister, will probably pay a political price in the next elections, if not sooner.

All countries in the Balkans are inhabited by people of different ethnicities, in all countries, the same. What will happen if every country in the Balkans asks the other countries in which members of the peoples of those countries live to create a community like Serbia is asking for? With or without international mediation? Will we return to Yugoslavia with republics and provinces, or will we ghettoize (partially) members of different nations, or will we fulfill historical wishes? Or... In the name of regional stability, should we divide by neighborhoods, or by streets?

However, the process of solving the problems between Serbia and Kosovo has started, and entered the implementation phase, and the ending will be painful for both sides. Serbs in Kosovo, with or without the formation of the Community, will remain between the hammer and the anvil of desires.

Source : Civilmedia