Hill: The CSM will be in line with the Brussels Agreement; the exact design will be defined by negotiations

American Ambassador to Serbia, Christopher Hill, said today that the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities would be formed in accordance with the Brussels Agreement, as well as that its exact design should be defined by the two parties in negotiations," Politika reports.

Hill said on TV Pink that the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities had been part of the Brussels Dialogue since 2013 and that it should be formed so that the Serbian community, primarily in North Mitrovica, could see what its future would look like.

"I think right now they're looking at a lot of models that are in line with European standards," Hill said.

When asked what was the deadline for the formation of the CSM, whether it was the period before or after the local elections in the four municipalities in the north of Kosovo, Hill said that "he cannot talk about such short deadlines" and added that the Special US Envoy for the Western Balkan, Gabriel Escobar "talked about some longer-term deadlines and that everything might be wrapped up by the end of 2023".

However, he believes that he should try to move quickly and ensure that the interests of the Serbian community in Kosovo are respected.

Hill assessed the negotiations in Ohrid on March 18, when Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti reached an oral agreement on the Implementation Annex of the Agreement on the Road to Normalization of Relations, as very successful.

"I think they have made progress. I would like to see some more concrete things, but I think we are very clearly moving toward the implementation of that dialogue process. A lot still needs to be done, especially in the articulation of what the CSM will look like, that is a key issue," Hill added.

He said that there were talks about organizing a new meeting between Vucic and Kurti and added that it would be an opportunity to clarify certain things.

On the occasion of the agreement in Ohrid, by which the Implementation Annex of the Agreement became a binding part of the European path of both parties, Hill said that Serbia should raise the issue of Kosovo in the context of its own aspirations for faster entry into the EU.

He stated that the most important thing for the US in the Western Balkans was good relations between the states and added that Washington therefore strongly supported the "Open Balkan" initiative, as well as all other regional initiatives, Beta reports.

"There need to be significantly more regional initiatives in order to create better patterns of cooperation between the countries of the Western Balkans. And the issue of relations between Belgrade and Pristina is part of the process of regional integration," Hill said.