Baraliu: Serbian delegation in Rambouillet made a serious mistake by not signing the agreement

Mazllum Baraliu, Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Pristina, stated to Kosovo Online, on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the Rambouillet negotiations tomorrow, that the political representatives of the former Yugoslavia had made a mistake by not taking the intentions of the international community seriously and by not signing the agreement.

"It was a major mistake by the Serbian delegation because they refused to sign, to agree to sign the agreement. It was an international agreement, conditioned – if not signed, Serbia would be bombed. Milosevic and his people believed that Western powers would never bomb Serbia, however, it happened, and Serbia suffered immense damage. The bombing occurred, and afterward, we know what happened, the Kumanovo Agreement, the entry of NATO troops into Kosovo, and the declaration of Kosovo's independence in 2008. A huge, irreversible mistake by the former Yugoslav delegation because they did not consider the intentions and patience of the international community seriously enough," Baraliu said.

Baraliu believes there is no longer room for such negotiations and peace conferences today and refers to the Resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2010, which, as he said, authorized the European Union to initiate a dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia "for reciprocal issues."

"Not what happened later with technical issues between the two countries, technical, everyday problems that unfortunately still remain unresolved, but the transition to political, diplomatic dialogue that is still ongoing. Serbia is trying to return the process to the beginning, which is why the provision was inserted in the Brussels Agreement for both sides to remain neutral regarding status. Serbia believes that negotiations should be held on the future status of Kosovo because it does not recognize Kosovo, however, Kosovo considers itself recognized by 117 countries worldwide. It declared independence and sees itself as a state with national subjectivity, which should be considered an equal member and partner in the dialogue according to the Vienna Convention," Baraliu said.