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| Aleksandar Vučić and Ursula von der Leyen in Belgrade, September, 2023 |
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić once again defied Western diplomatic calls on Tuesday to fulfill the obligations of the agreement on the normalization of relations with Kosovo, which imply de facto recognition of its independence.
"For us, recognizing Kosovo's independence is not a matter, and I have repeated this several times, and I don't find it difficult or shameful to say it once again in front of the President of the European Commission," he said during a joint press conference with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
"For Serbia, it is clear what it cannot do against its Constitution, and we have informed all our partners about this not only once but several times. This is Serbia's position, and we know it and keep repeating it, what Serbia has accepted, what we have discussed and approved in the conclusions of the Serbian Parliament. In accordance with this, we will act responsibly and seriously to fulfill our obligations," the Serbian president said.
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met separately last week with the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, and the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, in Brussels to advance the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia. In a joint statement on Friday, they called for Kosovo to initiate the process of establishing the Community while Serbia recognizes the de facto statehood of Kosovo.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stressed that it is crucial for Serbia and Kosovo to commit to normalization.
"In this respect, it is important that Serbia supports the status of the Community of Municipalities, Kosovo must implement this statute, and, moreover, it is essential that Serbia starts implementing existing agreements without losing time for it," she said, emphasizing that de facto recognition means Serbia recognizes the documents and institutions of Kosovo.
On October 21, American and European envoys submitted a document for the implementation of the agreement to the parties, part of which, as officials in Brussels explained, is a "contemporary European proposal for the statute of the Community of Serb-majority municipalities," which is the most challenging aspect of the Kosovo-Serbia negotiation process.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said that the proposal offered by Western diplomacy includes some principles signed eight years ago.
"There are 21 or 22 principles in total that were signed in 2015 by me and Isa Mustafa, and many of these principles are contained in the statute project," he said, emphasizing that he cannot speak further on other details.
Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti said he was willing to sign the proposal for the Association, which envisages the Constitutional Court giving a constitutional assessment. According to him, it was written carefully respecting the letters and the constitutional structure of the country.
Western diplomacy has called on Kosovo and Serbia to implement the agreements reached for the normalization of relations as soon as possible, which would also enable the expansion of the situation between the two countries.