Kosovo politician Valon Murati told N1 that the deal reached by Belgrade and Pristina on ID documents is positive for freedom of movement but warned of a lack of transparency on what was agreed.

Under the latest agreement reached by Belgrade and Pristina, residents of Kosovo and Serbia can cross the border with only their personal ID cards and will no longer be issued entry/exit documents. Top officials in Pristina said the deal is about reciprocity and equality as well as freedom of movement. The public feels that its good that that earlier agreements are now being implemented but critics claim that this is actually an agreement reached in 2011.

Murati said that this is about the same framework for an agreement which includes reciprocity. “There should be a document, because if there isn’t one then there should be some explanation. What I am talking about is the thing that is not being discussed at present – the fact that we should know which Kosovo Serb documents this is about; the ones issued by Serbia or the ones issued by parallel structures in Kosovo. If the parallel structures issued them, the sovereignty of Kosovo is being damaged by our accepting them,” Murati said.

According to him, Kosovo will now be under even greater pressure over the Community of Serb Municipalities (CSM). His impression is that Belgrade was more focused on the CSM than on the license plates and ID documents. “The government will be under great pressure from the international community which rightly says that this is an agreement that Kosovo accepted and should implement,” Murati said.

He said Kosovo should not focus on recognition but on reciprocity in the negotiations with Serbia, adding that the principle of reciprocity should mean that the same things are in place for the Serbs in the north of Kosovo and the Albanians in the Presevo valley in southern Serbia. “The implementation of that principle should end with the redefining of the border between Kosovo and Serbia as the most just solution for the states and the people-… Any other solution, such as a status quo or the CSM does not guarantee stability and an end to the conflict,” Murati said.