Blazic: Before signing new agreements, old ones must be implemented - regarding the CSM and police in the north

To further discuss potential signatures or new agreements outlined in the dialogue, the points from the First Brussels Agreement concerning the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities and the presence of police forces in the north must be addressed, Marko Blazic from the Center for Social Stability says for Kosovo Online.

Commenting on Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti's statements that signing is the only guarantee for full implementation of last year's agreements from Brussels and Ohrid, and that he will go to Brussels "if invited to sign the agreements," Blazic says such words confirm Kurti's readiness to pursue escalation and violence in his policies.

"The path to normalization and improvement of the situation for Serbs certainly lies in the implementation of previously signed agreements, primarily regarding the CSM, but also concerning what is crucial from a security standpoint, namely, that mono-ethnic police forces and special police units from Kosovo must not be present in the north of Kosovo without approval from Serbian representatives and the Serbs living there. These two points from the Brussels Agreement - the formation of the CSM and the presence of special forces - are crucial issues that need resolution before further discussions on potential signatures or new agreements," Blazic says.

He adds that issues such as the ban on importing goods from Serbia and holding elections in the four municipalities in the north with a majority Serbian population remain problematic.

"These are steps that need to be resolved before discussing new signatures and agreements," Blazic believes.

Asked about the path to a resolution, he says that once again, the ball is in the court of the international community.

"The international community must apply decisive measures to pressure Albin Kurti. Recall that Kurti's first government was brought down by the Americans due to the introduction of 100% tariffs on imports from central Serbia. Whether it's through mechanisms or sanctions by placing certain individuals on the US or EU sanctions list, remains to be seen. However, the international community must pressure Kurti to abandon the constant escalation of conflict because his policy is the main promoter of ethnic violence. Just looking at the fact that the number of ethnically motivated attacks against Serbs in our southern province has increased by 300%, it's clear how dire the situation on the ground is. But overall, in the context of negotiations, the only entity that can pressure him to move toward normalization is the international community," Blazic concludes.