Lajcak on Dialogue: If a solution is not found by 2024, we will have to start all over again

The representative of the European Union for dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, Miroslav Lajcak, told Politici that the level of mistrust between the two sides was higher than ever before, that tensions were still high, and that it was important that the leaders of Kosovo and Serbia started creating an atmosphere suitable for productive talks about the normalization of relations.

"What is really important now is that we do not allow the situation to turn into a new crisis, and it is important that the leaders of Kosovo and Serbia start creating an atmosphere suitable for productive talks on the normalization of relations," Lajcak added.

Lajcak notes that the deadline in March aims to indicate the seriousness of reaching an agreement.

"Both leaders are ready to meet - the problem is the outcome. The last two meetings were fine in terms of atmosphere, but the visions of the two leaders did not overlap. There are always high expectations from these meetings," Lajcak said.

Lajcak stressed that the repeated cycle of flare-ups followed by temporary solutions forces negotiators to engage in "putting out fires, because you cannot focus on normalization when there is a crisis."

"I hope we don't face another crisis in a week - or we can forget about normalization," he said.

Lajcak insists that the current timing is ideal for finding a solution and that if the moment is missed, the dispute could drag on for decades.

"Right now we have a very favorable setup, we have the attention of top management in the US and the European Union, and we have an example of EU-US cooperation, so this is a real opportunity, sometime until December 2023 or early 2024. If things aren't done by then, we'll have to start all over again. If we return to the crisis and conflicts, then we can forget about deadlines," Lajcak pointed out.