PRISTINA – Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti has accused Miroslav Lajčak, EU’s Special Representative for Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue, of taking an anti-Kosovo stance. During a press conference in Pristina, Kurti asserted that in the recent round of dialogue, he detected a clear bias against Kosovo as a whole, and particularly, against the Agreement concerning the normalization of relations.
Kurti suggested that there seemed to be a coordinated effort between Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Lajčak to create an “alternative scenario” in which only part of the agreement would be implemented.
“In the coming days, I will certainly hold meetings with all international actors who have recognized Kosovo as a state and wish to assist and support us in terms of democratic state-building, socie-economic development, and international recognition, particularly the normalization of relations with Serbia, which we have already addressed through the Basic Agreement of mutual de facto recognition!, Kurti stated.
When asked whether he would seek the replacement of Lajčak in the dialogue process, Kurti responded that the high-ranking European official was not accountable to him but rather to the European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament.
“I believe that what we have stated in the recent days, especially today, should be sufficient for accountability within European institutions”, Kurti added, rejecting the Brussels’ calims that he had turned down a sequencing plan for the Basig Agreemnt.
Kurti also sought clarification from the EU on whether Serbia had submitted a document outlining the agreement’s implementation. A document was provided at the end of the meeting, dated 19 July, according to Kurti, had been rejected during the Kosovo-Serbia chief negotiators’ meeting in Brussels on the same date.
According to him, this document stipulated that Associeation of Serb-majority municipalities should be established first, followed by discussions on the EU’s plan and he argued that the document had “transformed into the mediator’s plan”.
The latest round of dialogue in Brussels on September 14 between Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti concluded without any progress toward normalizing relations.
The disagreement about the sequence: What was proposed by Kurti and what by the EU?