Lajcak, advisors to Macron, Scholz soon due in Pristina, Belgrade

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European Union (EU) envoy Miroslav Lajcak and advisors to the French President and German Chancellor will visit Pristina and Belgrade on September 9 in order to explore the possibilities for progress in the Serbia-Kosovo dialogue, said European Commission spokesman Peter Stano.

Stano, the spokesperson of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell, said the EU strongly welcomes Macron’s and Scholz’s firm support for the EU-mediated Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, as well as the efforts of EU High Representative (Borrell) and special representative Lajcak.

Lajcak and the advisors will meet in Pristina with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, following which they will travel to Belgrade for a meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sent a joint letter to Vucic and Kurti at a moment, as they said, of decisive importance for security on the European continent and stability in the Western Balkans region.

We are convinced that, in the light of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, we must further intensify our efforts to ensure that the European perspective of the Western Balkan countries becomes a reality, and the long bilateral and regional disputes are resolved… the full normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia is of crucial importance for the Western Balkans, said the Macron and Scholz in their letter.

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said Monday that Serbia “has never avoided making difficult decision” when they were in Serbia’s interest and in the interest of its citizens.” Making difficult decisions is “our duty and our responsibility,” said Brnabic, adding that “others avoided making both difficult and easy decisions, and that address is in Pristina.”

The Prime Minister stressed that “it is impossible to talk about another agreement on normalization” before the agreement on the Community of Serb Municipalities in Kosovo is implemented.

They appealed to Vucic and Kurti to show determination and maximum readiness to make difficult decisions in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, adding that they assigned two of their foreign policy and security advisors to provide direct support to the EU’s mediator for the dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, in his efforts to reach a final agreement between Kosovo and Serbia.