Current:Home > FinanceKosovo’s prime minister blames EU envoy for the failure of recent talks with Serbia -AssetLink
Kosovo’s prime minister blames EU envoy for the failure of recent talks with Serbia
View
Date:2025-04-24 21:00:52
PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo’s prime minister on Monday accused the European Union special envoy in the normalization talks with Serbia of not being “neutral and correct” and “coordinating” with Belgrade against Pristina.
Prime Minister Albin Kurti said EU envoy Miroslav Lajcak had coordinated with Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic in the EU-facilitated talks held last week in Brussels.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who supervised the talks in Brussels, blamed the latest breakdown on Kurti’s insistence that Serbia should essentially recognize his country before progress could be made on enforcing a previous agreement reached in February.
Borrell has warned that the lack of progress could hurt both Serbia’s and Kosovo’s hopes of joining the bloc.
Serbia and its former province of Kosovo have been at odds for decades. Their 1998-1999 war, which ended after a 78-day NATO bombing forced Serbian military and police forces pull out of Kosovo, left more than 10,000 people dead, mostly Kosovo Albanians.
Kosovo declared independence in 2008 - a move Belgrade has refused to recognize.
In February, the EU put forward a 10-point plan to end months of political crises. Kurti and Vucic gave their approval at the time, but with some reservations that have still not been resolved.
On Monday, Kurti said Kosovo had offered a step-by-step proposal for the implementation of the agreement reached in February. Serbia has never offered any proposal while Lajcak brought out an old Serbian document they had turned down earlier.
“These are divergent negotiations due to the asymmetry from the mediator, who is not neutral,” said Kurti at a news conference.
“We do not need such a unilateral envoy, not neutral and correct at all, who runs counter to the basic agreement, which is what is happening with the envoy, Lajcak,” he said.
Kurti also criticized Borrell and Lajcak as EU representatives for not reacting to what he described as Serbia’s continuous violation of the February agreement with statements against Kosovo.
It was time for consultations with Brussels, Washington and other main players to bring “the train (i.e. talks) back to the rails,” he said.
“We should return to the basic agreement, how to apply it,” he said. “Serbia’s violation has been encouraged and not punished as the agreement states.”
In August, senior lawmakers from the United States — the other diplomatic power in the process — warned that negotiators weren’t pushing the Serbian leader hard enough. They said that the West’s current approach showed a “lack of evenhandedness.”
In May, in a dispute over the validity of local elections in the Serbian minority-dominated part of northern Kosovo, Serbs clashed with security forces, including NATO-led KFOR peacekeepers working there, injuring 93 troops.
There are widespread fears in the West that Moscow could use Belgrade to reignite ethnic conflicts in the Balkans, which experienced a series of bloody conflicts in the 1990s during the breakup of Yugoslavia, to draw world attention away from the war in Ukraine.
___
Llazar Semini reported from Tirana, Albania.
veryGood! (4679)
Related
- Opinion: Gianni Infantino, FIFA sell souls and 2034 World Cup for Saudi Arabia's billions
- RHOBH's Garcelle Beauvais Weighs in on Possible Dorit Kemsley Reconciliation After Reunion Fight
- Michelle Pfeiffer misses reported 'Scarface' reunion with Al Pacino at Oscars
- I've been movie-obsessed for years. This is the first time I went to the Oscars.
- Highlights from Trump’s interview with Time magazine
- GM, Chevrolet, Nissan, Porsche among 1.2 million vehicles recalled: Check car recalls here
- Letter carrier robberies continue as USPS, union, lawmakers seek solutions
- West Virginia governor vies for Manchin’s US Senate seat, while moonlighting as girls hoops coach
- Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
- Paul McCartney, Eagles, more stars to perform at Jimmy Buffett tribute show: Get tickets
Ranking
- Skins Game to make return to Thanksgiving week with a modern look
- Mistrial declared in fired Penn State football team doctor’s lawsuit over 2019 ouster
- Private jet was short on approach to Virginia runway when it crashed, killing 5, police say
- Luca Nardi, ranked No. 123 in the world, knocks out No. 1 Novak Djokovic at Indian Wells
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- If Ted Leonsis wants new arena for Wizards, Capitals, he and Va. governor need to study up
- A Kansas judge says barring driver’s license changes doesn’t violate trans people’s rights
- The 9 Best Comforter Sets of 2024 That’re Soft, Cozy, and Hotel-Like, According to Reviewers
Recommendation
Backstage at New York's Jingle Ball with Jimmy Fallon, 'Queer Eye' and Meghan Trainor
Stock market today: Asian shares are mostly higher ahead of a US report on inflation
Sister Wives' Maddie Brown Brush Honors Beautiful Brother Garrison Brown After His Death
Teen Mom’s Kailyn Lowry Shares Update on Coparenting Relationships After Welcoming Twins
Meta releases AI model to enhance Metaverse experience
OSCARS PHOTOS: Standout moments from the 96th Academy Awards, from the red carpet through the show
Rangers' Matt Rempe kicked out of game for elbowing Devils' Jonas Siegenthaler in head
Libraries struggle to afford the demand for e-books, seek new state laws in fight with publishers