Kurti: In the past 10 years, the dialogue has not brought about the integration of the north or the recognition of independence

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti stated that previous governments in the dialogue with Serbia had not achieved an agreement on recognition or integration of the north and that his Government had managed to bring a de facto recognition agreement in two years, Reporteri reports.

Today in the Kosovo Assembly, Kurti, while reporting on the recent meetings in Brussels, said that the rule of law could not be established in the north due to the fact that "criminals in the north were a part of the ruling coalition", and that "instead of the rule of law, Radoicic ruled".

"Since 2021, when we took over the Government, we have been saying that a new approach to dialogue is needed, a principled approach, as equal parties with mutual recognition at the center. The main challenge is what we have inherited in the past 10 years in a dialogue that has not brought about the integration of the north or an agreement on recognition", Kurti said.

Regarding the Brussels Agreement and the implementation annex, as well as the recent proposal for a new draft of the CSM, Kurti explained that Article 7 was the result of the last two years of dialogue.

"In two years of dialogue, our Government has brought an agreement that includes an implementation annex. The agreement pertains to the de facto recognition of Kosovo by Serbia. This is the result of a two-year dialogue", Kurti stated.

He emphasized that the Basic Agreement and its annex, within six rows of the preamble and the first five articles, "contain the de facto recognition of Kosovo by Serbia".

"Article 7 is also the result of the dialogue over these two years. Without Article 7, we would only finish with Article 10. Our demand was the full implementation of the agreement. In this regard, on October 21, we had a visit from five envoys with a plan for the way forward, including a plan for the Draft of the Statute for the implementation of Article 7. We evaluated the new plan. The draft of the proposal suggests that it should be considered by the Constitution of Kosovo immediately after its acceptance", Kurti said.

He stresses that during the meeting on October 6 with EU leaders, he requested an increase in security on the administrative line with Serbia.

"I also asked that Serbia be punished for the terrorist attack. We offered to sign the Basic Agreement with the full implementation annex and a proposal for the application of Article 7. The European Commission Summit in Brussels was an event, but also a place and a capital where it should happen. Serbia refused to sign it, thus rejecting the draft. We welcome the joint statement calling for the de facto recognition of Kosovo by Serbia", Kurti said.