Chollet: CSM to be formed urgently and the dialogue to be continued

Senior adviser of the State Department, Derek Chollet, said that there was a security vacuum in the north of Kosovo, adding that the security situation was worrisome, Reporteri reports.

"There is a security vacuum in the north. The situation is worrying. We don't want to spend time on crisis management. The situation was difficult in December, especially during the Christmas period," Chollet said.

Chollet stated that the urgent formation of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities was necessary, and added that the USA did not support arrangements that were not in accordance with the Constitutional Court of Kosovo, nor with its decisions.

At a press conference together with the American envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, and the American ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, Chollet said that the USA did not support the new Republic of Srpska in any way when it came to the formation of the CSM.

On the other hand, Escobar has stated that the CSM is an international obligation and no party can escape from that obligation.

Chollet added that he saw the strong will of the Government of Kosovo for progress in the dialogue process, which, as he stated, guaranteed Kosovo's integration into Euro-Atlantic structures.

"It is necessary for Kosovo to join a dialogue focused on mutual recognition, based on what President Biden emphasized in his letter, that the dialogue should be aimed at mutual recognition of the two countries," Chollet said.

Escobar and Chollet stated that they hoped that the agreement between Kosovo and Serbia should be reached soon.