“Conversation? What for” – Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani made it clear upon arrival in the southern Spanish city of Granada that she was not interested in a conversation with Serbian President Alexander Vucic. During their last exchange of views at the so-called European Political Summit Society’ (EPC), the two mainly threw insults at each other.
Osmani therefore came to the EPC meeting with more than forty European heads of state and government with a crystal clear demand: “I am here to ask our European allies to impose sanctions on Serbia.” It is unlikely that the “terrorist attacks” by Serbian paramilitaries in northern Kosovo, for which the Vucic government is directly responsible, will remain without consequences, Osmani said.
Only: the heads of state and government allowed the Kosovar to appear. Only Albania, where Prime Minister Edi Rama asked the EU for a decisive response to the attack last week, openly supports the imposition of sanctions. For Switzerland, Federal President Alain Berset avoided taking a clear position against Serbia and refrained from public criticism.
He met President Vucic two weeks ago in New York during the UN General Assembly and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti a few days later in Bern. It is important that we keep talking to each other. For Switzerland, a stable and peaceful solution in Kosovo is of “central importance”. Due to the large diaspora, the conflict has direct consequences for Switzerland, according to Berset.
Accusations against the EU’s foreign policy chief
Although Serbian President Vucic will not face harsh punitive measures for the time being, he is being criticized by various heads of state. In addition to French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also spoke to the Serbs. He expected “difficult discussions”, Vucic said upon arrival in Granada.
According to Serbian media, he also thanked Spain for its support on the ‘Kosovo issue’. In fact, the summit’s host country, Spain, is one of five EU states that do not recognize Kosovo’s independence as a separate state. EU Foreign Affairs Representative Josep Borrell, himself a Spaniard, has long had to accept that the Kosovo side will not be a neutral mediator in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue moderated by Brussels. Whether this can be continued at all is currently the question.
Osmani accuses Vucic of abusing the conversation format. Instead of working to normalize relations between Serbia and Kosovo, Vucic is using dialogue to cleanse his own image in the international community. But Vucic is not a normal head of state or government, but an aggressor like Slobodan Milosevic, who he was known to have been minister of propaganda. About the willingness to sit down with Serbia in the future, Osmani says: “First the sanctions and then we will talk about the rest.”
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
