Dautovic: I doubt Kallas will be involved in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue

Foreign policy analyst Mirko Dautovic stated, following the visit of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas to Belgrade, that the Balkans and the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue will not be her priority, but rather her focus will be on Ukraine and Russia, considering that Kallas is from Estonia.

"She will not have the same stance as Josep Borrell, who comes from a country that has not recognized Kosovo’s independence, and she will probably plan to delegate the dialogue to someone else who will deal with it. When the delegations meet, she may open the meetings as a host, but I doubt she will be actively involved in the dialogue," Dautovic told Kosovo Online.

Taking into account that Kallas stated during her visit to Belgrade that the meetings included discussions about “Serbia’s relations with its closest neighbor,” and added that the normalization of relations with Kosovo not only means improving ties but is fundamental for Serbia’s European future, Dautovic interprets this as a personal belief by Kallas that Kosovo is an independent state, as she comes from a country that has recognized that independence.

"I would say that this slipped out, because she certainly wouldn’t say that the European Union recognizes Kosovo, but you can see that she personally believes in it. I don’t think she will now push the dialogue in that direction, but the entire framework of the dialogue is such that this is ultimately what is expected from Serbia. Even though the European Union cannot officially take such a position, the question will always arise, what do you propose instead of an independent Kosovo? Europeans don’t see an alternative to independence, and I must say that Serbia itself does not present what the alternative is to Kosovo’s independence. And in that context, this 'fait accompli' that Kaja Kallas believes in comes out. I don’t think she intended to provoke or impose that view, but simply, that is her perception," Dautovic said.