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Alma Baxhaku of Klan Kosova asked some questions today; I answered:
Q: The dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia is resuming. The new Prime
Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, has said that this process is not a
continuation of what it was until now. Do you think that Kosovo
should radically change its approach to dialogue with Serbia?
A: The Prime Minister has good reason to want to underline that he
will take a different approach, as the past several years of the
dialogue have not been productive. I do think some changes are in
order.
Q: What should be Kosovo’s position at the negotiating table?
A: Kosovo needs to insist on equality and reciprocity. If something
is agreed for Serbs in Kosovo, an equivalent should be available to
Albanians inside Serbia. The Specialist Chambers violated this
principle. I’d like to see their jurisdiction extended to Serbia,
where the Albanian American Bytyqi brothers were murdered after the
war.
Kosovo also needs to be ready to walk away from a bad agreement in
order to get a good one. And it needs to strengthen its
international support.
Q: In the first meeting with President Vucic, PM Kurti came up with
four new proposals. How did you see them?
A: I’m mostly in agreement. I obviously agree with him on
reciprocity in general, though I might have some quarrels with how
it is applied in practice. I also agree that the missing persons of
all ethnicities need to be identified and their remains returned.
On CEFTA/SEFTA I’m inclined to agree as well. Mini-Schengen seems to
me an ill-defined enterprise, one in which Kosovo’s equality is not
clearly recognized. I also like the idea of a non-aggression
agreement, though I imagine Serbia will hesitate because it implies
Kosovo sovereignty and Belgrade would want NATO to sign on as well.
Q: PM Kurti said in front of the MEPs that the authors of the
documents that would bring ideas for a final solution between Kosovo
and Serbia are missing. Do you think the EU should offer a concrete
solution to the parties?
A: Only if it is one that recognizes the sovereignty and territorial
integrity of Kosovo. In the meanwhile, the EU should allow Kosovo
into the visa waiver program.
Q: What should be the role of the US in this resumed process?
A: The US should be supporting the EU, but it will also be called on
to “deliver” Kosovo. I think Brussels and Washington should form an
entity like the International Civilian Office to monitor
implementation of agreements reached in the dialogue as well as name
and shame those who fail to implement them.
Q: According to the statements made public, both Kurti and Vucic
have much opposite attitudes. Do you think that a final agreement
between Kosovars and Serbs is near?
A: I don’t. President Vucic sees little prospect of EU membership in
the near term and has consequently turned toward Moscow and Beijing
rather than Brussels. He has made it eminently clear he is not
prepared for a major move before next year’s Serbian presidential
election.
Kosovo in these circumstances has to do what it can to use the time
to strengthen its bargaining position. The recent movement of
non-recognizers Greece and Spain toward upgrading their
relationships with Kosovo is precisely the kind of thing needed. I’d
like Pristina to improve relations with Beijing, which is more
interested in commerce in the Balkans than politics. The Kosovo
government should also be doing everything it can to improve
relations with the Serb and other communities inside Kosovo,
including identifying and returning the remains of missing people,
implementing the Constitutional Court decision of the Decan/Decani
monastery’s property, and protecting all of the communities from
interethnic violence. |
