RT.com
19 Mar 2023, 15:44 GMT+10
The breakaway province has agreed to greater autonomy for its minority population, says the Serbian president
Serbia and its breakaway province Kosovo have made headway in normalizing ties, reaching agreement on several crucial points, President Aleksandar Vucic announced on Saturday. He said Pristina had consented to the creation of the Community of Serb Municipalities (CSM) which would give greater autonomy to the Serb population in several areas of Kosovo.
Speaking after a high-level meeting in Ohrid, North Macedonia, which was attended by Kosovo's Prime Minister Aljbin Kurti and EU top diplomat Josep Borrell, Vucic said that while he "had not signed anything today," the parties "had made good progress in a constructive atmosphere."
"It was no D-day, but it was an OK day," he summed up.
"These few points that we agreed upon will become part of the negotiation framework for each of the parties... The European Council will assess how much has been done by the implementation plan, which will have to be expanded," Vucic stated.
He highlighted that Belgrade attached much importance to the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities. "That's why I'm really happy. It was stated that the formation of the CMS should be started immediately, but I don't know if Pristina will do it."
"If we want to persevere on the European path, our progress will also be appreciated in terms of the implementation of what I told you about tonight," the president added.
Progress was also confirmed by the EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell. "The parties have fully committed to honor all articles of the agreement and implement their respective obligations expediently and in good faith," he tweeted.
Last month, the EU unveiled a proposal for a "path to normalization" of relations between Belgrade and Pristina. At the time, the bloc insisted that the two develop "good-neighborly relations," recognize each other's documents and "proceed on the assumption that neither of the two can represent the other in the international sphere."
Both parties must also "ensure an appropriate level of self-management for the Serbian community in Kosovo," the EU said at the time.
However, Vucic signaled that while Serbia is ready to work on implementation of many points of the EU-backed plan, formal recognition and Kosovo's accession to the UN are out of the question.
Kosovo unilaterally declared independence in 2008 with the support of the US and many of its allies. The breakaway region is not recognized by several countries, including Russia, China and Serbia itself.
(RT.com)
Get a daily dose of Philadelphia Herald news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Philadelphia Herald.
More InformationLONDON, U.K.: This week, BP appointed Simon Henry, former Shell finance chief, to its board as a non-executive director effective September...
OTTAWA, Canada: With Canada Post struggling to maintain operations amid labour unrest, rivals like FedEx and UPS are stepping in to...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. and global markets showed a mixed performance in Tuesday's trading session, with some indices edging higher...
PARIS, France: French military and intelligence officials have accused China of orchestrating a covert campaign to damage the reputation...
NEW DELHI, India: Birkenstock is stepping up its efforts to protect its iconic sandals in India, as local legal representatives conducted...
HONG KONG: China has fired back at the European Union in an escalating trade dispute by imposing new restrictions on medical device...
MOSCOW, Russia: Just hours after his sudden dismissal by President Vladimir Putin, Russia's former transport minister, Roman Starovoit,...
DHARAMSHALA, India: The Dalai Lama turned 90 on July 6, celebrated by thousands of followers in the Himalayan town of Dharamshala,...
ZAGREB, Croatia: A massive concert by popular Croatian singer Marko Perković, known by his stage name Thompson, has drawn widespread...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Elon Musk's entry into the political arena is drawing pushback from top U.S. officials and investors, as his decision...
CULVER CITY, California: TikTok is preparing to roll out a separate version of its app for U.S. users, as efforts to secure a sale...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Donald Trump claimed he was unaware that the term shylock is regarded as antisemitic when he used it in...