Escobar: Even if Kurti doesn't want it, CSM will be formed

The Special Representative of the United States for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, stated in an interview with the Vienna newspaper Die Presse that the Community of Serb Municipalities must be formed and that it is only a question of whether Kosovo wants to wait for Euro-Atlantic integration until Prime Minister Albin Kurti fulfills his obligation.

Escobar emphasized that "Kosovo must move urgently" and indicated that the establishment of the CSM is an international, legal, and assumed obligation.

"That doesn't depend on him. It is not a matter between Kurti and Serbia. It is a matter between Kosovo and Serbia. Even if Kurti doesn't want it, the CSM will be formed," Escobar stressed when asked about the resistance of Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti to the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities.

He pointed out that the question is only whether Kosovo wants to wait for Euro-Atlantic integration until the Prime Minister fulfills his obligations.

According to him, if Kosovo doesn't want a new Republika Srpska like in Bosnia and Herzegovina, then it must present its proposal for what it wants.

"They have told us what they don't want. Now they have to tell us what they want, and we are waiting for that," Escobar conveyed.

According to him, the unwillingness of Pristina to move forward on this issue demonstrates "an unwillingness to reconcile in their own country."

"Our message to Kosovo and Serbia is that as long as both sides do not implement important agreements from the normalization process, it is not the time for 'business as usual'," Escobar underscored.

He also stated that Serbia needs to send a clear message that it does not tolerate violence; neither against the peacekeeping forces of KFOR nor against the Kosovo Police.