Escobar: Kurti made a mistake with the letter to Blinken in which he says that Borrell and Lajčak cooperate with Russia

The American envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, said that the letter sent by Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti to the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, in which he says that European mediators Josep Borrell and Miroslav Lajčak are working with Russia against Kosovo, is completely wrong, writes the Pavlovic Today.

"I will tell you that the letter is factually wrong because it says that Lajcak and Borrell are cooperating with Russia and that they have a unilateral approach to Kosovo. But I can tell you that the letter to Secretary Blinken was not justified. I don't know why he is doing it. I followed the process very much, very carefully and I was present in Brussels during many meetings. And I can tell you, there is no bias," said Escobar.

When asked what his message was to Kurti, Escobar briefly said "please don't waste your time".

He expressed his belief that the agreement in Ohrid actually benefits Kosovo more than Serbia, emphasizing that it is more demanding towards Serbia than towards Kosovo.

Escobar, when asked about the future of dialogue in view of the current situation, said that despite this, diplomacy should not be abandoned.

"I would not characterize it as a collapse. I would say that we failed to bring the parties together. However, according to the position of the Biden administration, this does not mean that diplomacy should be abandoned," added Escobar.

Regarding the Union of Serbian Municipalities, Escobar said that Kosovo should establish it within the framework of the implementation of the Ohrid Agreement and that its establishment is a process, which does not mean that Serbia will not be obliged to fulfill its obligations during that time.

"Look at the plan proposed by the European Union, which I think is very fair. Both sides should immediately start implementing their demands. I know that in some cases Serbia wants Kosovo to establish a CSM before taking action on its part, and I know that Kosovo has proposed that Serbia complete all its parts before its implementation. But it will be a process. So I think we should start that process. Recognition of Kosovo licenses, identity cards, government documents, it's all part of it. And as for the parallel structures within the CSM, I think that is also a process. So I believe this process should start now. We are still waiting for the Government of Kosovo to show that it is moving forward with it," Escobar said, among other things.

When asked about potential measures or consequences the United States could consider to hold Kurti accountable for upholding international law, Escobar refrained from answering about the measures, but focused on the consequences.

"I don't want to talk about measures. I want to talk about the consequences. Thus, Kosovo is already facing the consequences of its unwillingness to cooperate closely with the European Union. However, what I am saying is what you have is not the consequences but a missed opportunity. Therefore, after Ohrid, I spoke with the government of Kosovo, that the US is starting a new recognition campaign to convince countries that Kosovo has done everything necessary according to the Ohrid Agreement. We were looking forward to a strategic bilateral dialogue, we are looking forward to a closer relationship with NATO, including a potential Partnership for Peace, and then support for Kosovo's candidacy for the European Union. Unfortunately, since we did not have any implementation in Ohrid, all that is now excluded. I would like, I hope we could do it in 2024," said Escobar.