Hovenier: Signing the agreement is less important - progress is needed; the CSM is Kosovo's obligation

US Ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier stated that while he appreciated the willingness of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti to sign an agreement with Serbia, signing the agreement was far less important than fulfilling the obligations, Reporteri reports.

"From our perspective, although we acknowledge Prime Minister Kurti's interest in having a signature, we believe that is far less important than moving forward with the full and complete implementation of all obligations from the agreement by both sides. I can provide you with lists of other agreements that are not necessarily signed but are legally binding. The US and the EU believe that the Basic Agreement and the Implementation Annex are legally binding," Hovenier said for Channel 10.

Regarding the statement by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic that Serbia will not recognize Kosovo, Hovenier emphasized:

"I can say that at this moment, we believe the President of Serbia when he says he is not ready for it".

He also indicated that the United States fully supported the European proposal for the formation of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities, which had been presented to Kurti by the diplomatic five on October 21, and they are on the same page as France, Germany, and Italy regarding the draft of the CSM Statute.

"In a recent statement, the President of France, the Chancellor of Germany, and the Prime Minister of Italy described the draft of the Statute, which they fully approve of, and I will add that the United States fully supports it, as a 'modern European way of addressing the sensitive issue of minority protection in line with the best European practices and standards within the parameters set by the parties'. We agree with this", Hovenier said.

He also stated that the CSM was an obligation for Kosovo but that the United States understood and accepted that it "must be limited in certain ways".

According to him, the CSM should be established in accordance with the Kosovo Constitution and in line with the position expressed by the US through Derek Chollet and Gabriel Escobar.

He added that within the draft, there were modalities that allowed the Constitutional Court to approve it.

"The last point – is it in line with the Constitution? We believe it is. There are modalities within the draft of the Statute for the Constitutional Court to approve that decision", Hovenier said.

As he says that the proposed draft of the CSM Statute "avoids another entity similar to Republika Srpska" in Kosovo.

Speaking about the role of the United States in the dialogue, the US Ambassador said that at the end of this process was the integration of Kosovo into European and Euro-Atlantic structures.

"This should be a process led by the European Union, ensuring that all arrangements, reforms, and processes are in line with European standards," he said.

He emphasized that Kosovo's destiny was to be a part of the EU, not the "51st state of the United States".

"Therefore, it is appropriate for the European Union to take the lead on this, with extremely strong support from us as well", Hovenier said.

He also noted that the US was not neutral.

"We are not neutral. We made the decision in 2008. We support Kosovo as an independent democratic sovereign state. I sometimes compare this process to watching a football game, where you can already know the final result on the scoreboard, know how the match ends, know what will happen in the end", Hovenier said.