Kurti: CSM cannot be at the center of Kosovo-Serbian relations, mutual recognition should be

Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti stated that the Association of Serbian Municipalities (CSM) cannot be the focus of Kosovo-Serbian relations, instead, mutual recognition must be the central issue, as reported by Koha.

In an interview with Kosova Press, Kurti said he does not accept placing the CSM at the heart of Kosovo-Serbian relations.

"The document (the draft Association) was proposed by mediators, unsigned, and as such, could not be submitted to the Constitutional Court. Therefore, I believe we need to focus on the basic agreement. Article 7 talks about the self-management of the Serbian community, let it deal with that, and Article 10 also mentions all agreements made in the past which are legally binding. Now, I don't believe the Association should be the center of Kosovo-Serbian relations; it should be mutual recognition. We cannot talk about giving up on mutual recognition with the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities. Thus, the heart of the basic agreement is at least de facto mutual recognition. I don't deny that predecessors signed the Association twice, in 2013 and 2015, but at the same time, I do not accept that the Association should be central to Kosovo-Serbian relations," Kurti explained.

Kurti also mentioned that Serbia violated agreements made in February and March 2023.

"I believe if something has failed, then it's calling out the breach of agreements, because Serbia violated the agreement it accepted and then Brussels did not react. We cannot expect the implementation of agreements if there is no punishment for their breach, so as long as the agreement is not enforced, it should not be violated, and this has been tolerated by Brussels for Serbia. The basic agreement consists of 11 articles and 6 sentences in the preamble and has an implementation annex with 12 points. I think when we talk about dialogue, we need to return to the agreement and emphasize that Serbia dares not withdraw the letter from Mrs. Brnabic as Prime Minister, who stated that she does not respect the territorial integrity of Kosovo. Serbia should hand over Milan Radoicic, who killed our police sergeant Afrim Bunjaku, a hero of Kosovo," says Kurti.

Regarding the implementation plan of the agreement, Kurti does not expect constructiveness from official Belgrade. 

"Now we must wait for the new High Representative Kaja Kalas and her initiative to proceed. I believe that in this sense, the ball is in the court of the mediators, as we cannot expect Belgrade to suddenly become a constructive actor and agree to sign the agreement and implement it. Their destructiveness is increasing, so we expect the mediators to stop the destructiveness of the other side," he stated.
Meanwhile, concerning the punitive measures of the European Union towards Kosovo, Kurti said he cannot give a date when they might be removed.

"There has been de-escalation in the north, we hope that there will not be a re-escalation. There have been attempts at re-escalation, hand grenades thrown at a police station and the municipal building, and the mining of the Ibar-Lepenac canal. But everyone knows that the Government of the Republic of Kosovo is not responsible for this. I am working and hope that the measures will be removed earlier, but I cannot give a specific date for this, because it's not that we have imposed the measures ourselves, but they have been unfairly imposed on us," Kurti added.

Kurti: I See No Difficulties for Excellent Relations with the USA

"Regarding the United States, we have excellent relations that are not only in the field of diplomacy but also in defense and development. Meanwhile, we will cooperate with President Trump, we will communicate, our communication is officially taking place between state institutions, not with companies or intermediaries. We have the Embassy of the Republic of Kosovo, we have our ambassador Ilir Dugolli, who works day and night with American state institutions," said Kurti.

Kurti emphasized that the USA is a principal partner and an indispensable ally of Kosovo.