Serbia and Kosovo are making progress in sorting out their relations

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After 12 hours of marathon negotiations in Ohrid, North Macedonia, the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo have made significant progress. “We have a deal,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell (75) told reporters late on Saturday evening.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (53) and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti (47) had previously argued over a new agreement that would fundamentally regulate relations between the two hostile Balkan states. Borrell and the EU’s Special Envoy for the Balkans, Miroslav Lajcak (59), acted as mediators.

Now inhabited almost exclusively by Albanians, Kosovo broke away from Serbia in 1999 with NATO help and declared independence in 2008. Serbia still does not recognize this.

peace plan

Under the planned agreement, Belgrade will not recognize Kosovo under international law, but will recognize the state of its former province. In particular, it should recognize Kosovo’s passports, registration plates and customs documents. Kosovo must institutionally guarantee the rights of the Serbian ethnic group in the country.

At a first meeting on February 27 in Brussels, both sides orally approved a draft agreement presented by the EU on the basis of a Franco-German proposal, which has the support of the US. On Saturday, the focus was on specific deadlines in the annex to the agreement to implement its points.

Just like in Brussels, Vucic also did not want to sign the agreement reached this time. “The agreement and its annex are considered accepted,” Borrell said after the talks. At the same time, he admitted that the two sides had not followed the “more ambitious ideas” of the EU mediators. He did not comment on the substantive differences. Work will continue “until a comprehensive agreement is reached,” he added.

Nothing signed yet

“I didn’t sign anything today,” Vucic told journalists in Ohrid. “We showed in different ways where the respective red lines are for us.” He described the atmosphere of the talks as “constructive”. For the Serbian nationalist, any softening of the tough stance against Pristina represents a political risk. Right-wing extremists in Serbia have threatened “hot” protests if Vucic “capitulates” in Ohrid.

Kurti, in turn, is under pressure from the Kosovar Albanian population and voters, who refuse to make concessions to the Serbian community. However, Article 7 of the agreement stipulates that the Serbs in Kosovo are entitled to “an appropriate degree of independent management of their affairs”. Borrell said Pristina has now committed to immediately implement this point.

difficult story

In Kosovo, there are fears that excessive veto powers for a future Serbian association of municipalities could block the state. In addition, one remembers the repression by the Serbian security forces when the area was still part of Serbia. An armed uprising by Kosovar Albanians in 1998/99 resulted in even more massive human rights violations by Serbia. In the spring of 1999, NATO responded by bombing the rest of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro).

Serbia then had to withdraw completely from its former province. From 1999 to 2008, the UN administration Unmik administered the area. In 2008, the country declared its independence. More than 100 countries, including Germany, have recognized independent Kosovo – five EU member states, including Spain and Greece, have not.

Moscow ally Serbia

The relationship between the youngest European state and Serbia remained unresolved. Diplomatic efforts by the West in recent years have failed to significantly normalize the situation. Tensions had escalated again in the previous year, with roadblocks and shooting incidents.

Against the background of the Russian offensive war against Ukraine, the solution of the Kosovo conflict again became important for the West. Moscow exploits weaknesses in the political order of several Balkan states to gain influence. Belgrade is dependent on Russia because the eastern superpower, with its veto right in the UN Security Council, prevents the inclusion of Kosovo in the world organization. Serbia is the only country in the region that does not support EU sanctions against Russia. (SDA)

Source: Blick