Kurti: Status-neutral license plates will not be used again

NEWS 24.08.202214:21
Sednica Vlade Kosova, Kosovo, Albin Kurti, Aljbin Kurti
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Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said that the status-neutral KS license plates are not needed and that they cannot be put back into circulation.

Addressing a Kosovo Government sitting, Prime Minister Kurti said that, by signing the 2016 agreement, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic himself accepted that these license plates are illegal and that they can only be used until 2021.

Under the UN Resolution 1244, KS are status-neutral license plates, while Kurti insists on using only RKS (Republic of Kosovo) license plates.

Kurti accused “the Serbian side” of escalating the rhetoric and of “undermining national and regional security”.

I think that the aim is to unfairly create superiority in negotiations by threatening the European Union (EU), but also the United States of America or the United Kingdom, with tensions in the future, said Kurti.

He said the threats of Kosovo Serbs’ representatives that they could withdraw from Kosovo institutions are a case of „the dominance of the narrative of criminals like Milan Radoicic and not of those who see integration as the primary option“.

Kurti said he did not comment anything following the August 18 meeting in Brussels because there was an internal agreement not to issue statements out of concern that it would negatively affect the progress of the dialogue, but not everyone adhered to this agreement.

The Kosovo Prime Minister said he presented at the August 18 meeting six chapters of a comprehensive agreement on the normalization of relations with Serbia, which include mutual recognition.

Kurti said that, instead of ideas, the Serbian side brought only observations to the meeting, which, in his opinion, means that “it is not interested in full normalization but only in small steps.”

The Prime Minister said that he elaborated in detail Kosovo’s perspectives on the framework agreement.

The first chapter should clearly define the status of bilateral relations between the two countries and the international context, which means mutual recognition and Kosovo’s path towards full membership in international organizations, Kurti said.

Facing the past, which includes persons disappeared by violence, victims of sexual violence, displaced persons, transitional justice, war damages and the return of artifacts are all parts of the second chapter, he said.

The third chapter refers to future cooperation, including free movement of capital, people, goods and services, and the fourth covers minority rights, said Kurti.

The fifth chapter, he explained, is on considering the agreements signed so far but not with the idea of renegotiating them while the sixth deals with the establishment of “clear mechanisms for the implementation of agreements and the resolution of eventual disputes.”

The Kosovo Prime Minister met on August 18 in Brussels with EU officials and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.