Belgrade Tells Washington Kosovo Failed To Honor Obligations Under EU-Brokered Deal

Serbian Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovic told US Special Representative for the Western Balkans Matthew Palmer that the administration of self-proclaimed Kosovo has failed to deliver on the 2013 EU-brokered Brussels agreement

BELGRADE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd June, 2021) Serbian Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovic told US Special Representative for the Western Balkans Matthew Palmer that the administration of self-proclaimed Kosovo has failed to deliver on the 2013 EU-brokered Brussels agreement.

Palmer and the EU special representative for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, are currently on an official visit to the region. During the meetings with Kosovo officials, Palmer said that Pristina has to form a community of Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo in accordance with the 2013 agreement with Serbia. On Thursday, Palmer met with Selakovic in Belgrade.

"We consider it unacceptable that Pristina evades fulfilling its commitments first of all, the establishment of the Community of Serb Municipalities in the region, and insists on mutual recognition," Selakovic said.

The current rhetoric of Kosovar "Prime Minister" Albin Kurti does not contribute to an atmosphere for continuing the dialogue either, he continued.

Selakovic also expressed his concern over increased attacks against the Serbian Orthodox Church's sites in Kosovo, mentioning that the unique medieval Visoki Decani monastery is now under maximum threat.

In 2008, Kosovo, an autonomous province of Serbia whose population is predominantly Albanian, proclaimed its independence from Belgrade. It is still not recognized by many countries, including Serbia, China, Iran, Russia and Spain.

In 2013, Serbia and Kosovo signed an EU-mediated agreement to normalize relations. However, the dialogue has since come to a standstill. In 2020, the sides struck another deal on normalization, brokered by the United States.