Escobar: Continuation of talks on the CSM in two weeks, at the level of the main negotiators

The Special Envoy of the United States of America for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, said today that the talks on the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities would continue in two weeks at the level of the main negotiators of Serbia and Kosovo, in order to reach a compromise solution on how the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities should look like.

Escobar stated at the online press conference that at yesterday's meeting between Serbian President, Aleksandar Vucic, and Kosovo Prime Minister, Albin Kurti with EU officials in Brussels, both sides had presented their proposals for the draft Statute of the CSM.

"Now, it is up to both parties, to sharpen their proposal so that it is acceptable to the other side and that it is a model in accordance with the European framework on this issue and which will protect the rights of the Serbs in Kosovo. I think both sides are very serious about this, just as the US is very serious about expecting to make progress on this issue. At the meeting, the management team presented the draft of the CSM Statute, and Kurti presented his principles for the CSM. Both proposals are serious and talks will continue, Escobar said.

He emphasized that Serbia and Kosovo had accepted a legally binding agreement for the normalization of relations and that its implementation had been discussed at the meeting in Brussels.

"Implementation begins with the formation of the CSM, important elements related to the Community were discussed at the meeting, now it is up to the main negotiators to move forward and come up with a proposal for the CSM Statute acceptable to both parties. It is important for the CSM to be a platform for improving the position and protection of Kosovo Serbs and their participation in the political life of Kosovo," Escobar said.

When asked if, after Kurti had rejected the draft Statute of the CSM presented by the Management Team, claiming that he “did not want a new Republika Srpska in Kosovo", the dialogue reached an impasse, Escobar said that some positive developments had already been made in this regard and that he expected to continue in that direction.

"There is no pressure on either Serbia or Kosovo to accept the other side's proposal for the CSM Statute. This is not a situation where one party loses and the other wins, this is a process that should be a win-win for both parties. Both sides should take this process seriously, especially Kosovo in the sense that the CSM should also go through the appropriate parliamentary and legal procedure so that the process of its formation would be irreversible," Escobar said.

He said that the model applied in Bosnia and Herzegovina was a unique example and that it would not be replicated in Kosovo.

When it comes to the deadlines by which the CSM could be formed, Escobar said that he hoped it could happen by the end of the year.

"I think it is not premature, the leaders are meeting, discussing the right issues, and some progress is being made. We didn't even expect that they would agree on the CSM at yesterday's meeting, but it is important that the discussion was started," Escobar said.

He welcomed the adoption of the Declaration on the Missing Persons at the meeting in Brussels and said that he would remain engaged in the process of normalizing relations between Serbia and Kosovo, together with colleagues from the EU.

"The US and the EU are fully committed to the normalization of relations. The stability of the region depends on it, the communities living in Kosovo, the challenges facing Europe require it," Escobar said.

At the beginning of the press conference, the American official expressed his condolences to the families of the victims of the shooting that had happened today at the school in Belgrade.