Kosovo’s President, Vjosa Osmani, has requested the European Union and other partners to put pressure on Serbia to honor the pledges made as part of the Agreement for Normalization of Relations.
Osmani accused Belgrade of breaching two clauses of the agreement during an official visit to North Macedonia. According to the President, Kosovo will approach the new session of conversation on May 2 with a constructive and open attitude.
“We can more or less predict Serbia’s actions based on recent statements, particularly actions that violated the agreement reached in Brussels and the Ohrid annex. As you are aware, Article 4 of this agreement states that Serbia will not object to Kosovo joining any international organization. This gross infringement was demonstrated by their behavior on Monday at the Council of Europe, as well as their lobbying against the pro-Kosovo vote. Of fact, their illegal participation in Kosovo’s elections violates Article 2 of this agreement.”
Serbia voted against Kosovo’s request in this European organization on April 24 during a meeting of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers. Serbian authorities have even threatened to employ the measure of reciprocity against those that do not respect Serbia’s territorial integrity.
North Macedonia’s President, Stevo Pendarovski, stated that his country has the same attitude toward both Kosovo and Serbia, since it respects their independence and maintains diplomatic relations with both. He believes that these two countries might learn from the Ohrid Agreement, which ended the military war in North Macedonia in 2001.
“It is not wrong to learn from what we accomplished with the Ohrid Agreement in 2001, even though the specifics of each country also dictate specific solutions for those countries.” I’m not claiming the conditions are comparable or that our answers can be seen in Kosovo-Serbia relations, but what they think is beneficial can be accepted. However, it is understood that the final decision on what they will accept in that dialogue will be made by the legitimate bodies in Pristina and Belgrade. We are friendly neighbors who wish to see the conclusion of this long disagreement, which is stifling regional collaboration, which is critical for the region’s readiness for integration into Euro-Atlantic frameworks.”
Vjosa Osmani, President of Kosovo
During her visit to Skopje, Kosovo’s President warned of “destabilizing tendencies” in the Balkan region, as well as Russia’s “malignant influence.”