Hovenier: The CSM an urgent issue; European mediators enjoy strong confidence by the US

The Ambassador of the United States of America to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, said in an interview with RFE that the establishment of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities was among the first steps that Kosovo should take in implementing the Agreement on the Normalization of Relations.

"If you listen more carefully to what Borrell said after the meeting in Brussels, he said that these were two parallel paths, and the need to move forward with a credible process of drafting the CSM statute was a part of that," Hovenier said.

That, he says, is the main thing that was requested from Kosovo.

"That is the most difficult, but the main thing we asked from Kosovo, in the implementation of the Ohrid Agreement. But at the same time, we would work on these political matters, in implementing the obligations for the normalization of relations," Hovenier said.

He adds that these parallel processes are normal for an outside observer of the situation in Kosovo.

"As far as I understand, the Government of Kosovo had certain concerns regarding the timing of the initiation of a credible process for negotiations on the statute of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities. And, that was the request of the US and the expectation of the US from the Government of Kosovo, that this work should start and start very soon It is an urgent element of the implementation of the Ohrid Agreement," Hovenier said.

According to his words, the USA expects that both Kosovo and Serbia implement all the obligations and commitments assumed by the Ohrid Agreement for the normalization of relations.

"We believe that it should be fully in accordance with the current Constitution of Kosovo. We believe that the CSM should be fully in accordance with the decision of the Constitutional Court. We do not believe that there should be executive powers or authorities," Hovenier added.

The US Ambassador adds that it seems that Serbia has a different vision, but according to him, that "does not mean that Kosovo cannot improve the Community that deals with the concerns of the Serbs in Kosovo."

"Serbia may be asking for more, but at the end of the day, that's what the US and the international community are willing to see as acceptable," Hovenier says.

He expressed the hope that the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, would work with the representatives of the European Union on this "strategic goal".

If they don't, he warns, there will be consequences.

"We are very committed to seeing the progress of Kosovo, but we could not be more interested than the Government of Kosovo," Hovenier said.

He added that the European mediators of the dialogue enjoyed the "strong confidence of the USA".