Escobar: The implementation of the Ohrid agreement should begin immediately

Gabriel Escobar, the State Department's Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, said today at an online press conference that the goal of the meeting in Ohrid had not been to discuss mutual recognition but to normalize relations, in order to avoid barricades and crises like the one that had arisen over license plates.

Escobar stated that the agreement reached in Ohrid two days ago was legally binding, although it had not been signed.

"This agreement is legally binding for both parties. Although it is not signed, it is an agreement in every sense," the American diplomat said.

When asked by Kosovo Online if it could happen that the Ohrid agreement had the same fate as the Brussels and Washington agreements, Escobar stated that "it is very clear that the EU path for both countries is clearly conditioned by the normalization of relations".

"We will look very closely at how to support the process and encourage both countries. We will be actively involved in this process," Escobar said.

According to his words, the High EU Representative, Josep Borrell, made it clear that the parties had committed themselves and that the implementation of the agreement would have an impact on the European path of both.

"The agreement is the path to the reconciliation of Serbia and Kosovo. It is important that we clarify how the two sides will continue. Implementation must begin immediately and both sides will benefit from it. I believe that Euro-Atlantic integration is the most important. We will progress only if the implementation of the agreement begins as soon as possible. It is important for both sides that everything left from the Brussels Agreement is implemented. This is expected from both sides. We will continue to work with both sides and our partners," he said.

When asked by one of the Albanian journalists whether, after Ohrid, the five EU members who did not recognize Kosovo would now change their decision and how he viewed it, Escobar said, "First of all, the question should be for them. We hope that all EU countries will recognize Kosovo in the near future. It is important for Kosovo, which is part of the European family, to be recognized. We also hope that all the countries of the Western Balkans will recognize each other and have good relations. About signing, this is a legal obligation and this applies to both Serbia and Kosovo. The story about the signing has no material impact on whether we have an agreement and that both sides entered with seriousness. Focusing on the signing is unnecessary," Escobar said, adding that the dialogue would continue and that there would be new meetings between Vucic and Kurti.

When asked by journalists whether Vucic and Kurti had discussed Kosovo's membership in international organizations, including the United Nations, at the meeting in Ohrid with EU representatives, Escobar said that the US strongly supported the dialogue, but that they were not part of that process.

"So I can't answer the question, because I didn't participate in the talks. But, I can tell you that everything in the basic agreement and in the annex was discussed at the meetings," Escobar said.