Escobar and Lajcak in Belgrade: Support for the continuation of the dialogue

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic met yesterday in Belgrade with the U.S. Deputy Assistant Gabriel Escobar and the EU Special Envoy for the Serbia-Kosovo Dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak. After the separate meetings, a tripartite meeting was held, where the topics of discussion were the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, stability in the region and the economic progress of Serbia and the Western Balkans.

Vucic said that Serbia is a serious and reliable partner in all the agreements signed and that it is fulfilling its obligations, while at the same time encountering “continuous efforts by the authorities in Pristina to avoid fulfilling their obligations through unilateral provocations and unrealistic expectations from the mediators of the dialogue about the possible course of the conversation.”.

On the other hand, American and European diplomats stressed that they support the continuation of constructive dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia and stressed the importance of both sides fulfilling their obligations under the dialogue, as well as conveyed support for the integration of the Western Balkans into the EU.

Lajcak stressed that the EU and the US work closely together and share the same vision when it comes to the dialogue process and the future of the entire EU region, adding that their efforts are aimed at reaching a comprehensive agreement and implementation of all agreements signed so far.

Also, the Speaker of the Assembly of Serbia, Ivica Dacic, met today with Lajcak and Escobar, with whom he talked about the upcoming elections in Serbia.

On this occasion, Dacic stressed that he believes that the elections will be organized in Kosovo and on that occasion asked the EU and the US to use their authority to influence the Kosovo authorities to make this possible.

The US Embassy in Serbia made a statement today, through a post on Twitter, stating that the EU and the US are working closely together to realize the European future of Kosovo and Serbia, as their common vision .

“Progress in normalizing bilateral relations is an important step,” the US embassy added in a Twitter post.

Eskobar and Lajcak also met today with Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovic.

Selakovic also told interlocutors that Belgrade is ready to continue the dialogue with Kosovo and is open to reaching a compromise agreement that will be mutually acceptable.

Escobar and Lajçak visited Kosovo on 31 January, where they held a series of meetings with Kosovo officials. In a conversation with them, they said that the dialogue process has the full support of the United States and the EU and reiterated that the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Kosovo are not in question.

“In this case, we encourage all parties to see the Western Balkans as potential future members of the EU, who will be at peace with each other. And the best hope for this is dialogue,” said Escobar in a press conference after meeting with the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, reports RFE/RL.

Lajcak and Escobar will stay in Belgrade today, while the agenda of meetings and conferences is scheduled to continue in the afternoon.