Latinovic: The statements of Hill and Hovenier without major differences, the US goal is for dialogue to end with Kosovo's recognition

Former ambassador to the OSCE, Branka Latinovic, says for Kosovo Online that the goal of the United States is for the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina to conclude with the recognition of Kosovo, which is, as she says, well known to Belgrade, as it reflects a continuous stance of the American administration, and that there are no significant differences between the statements made by US ambassadors in Belgrade and Pristina, Christopher Hill and Jeffrey Hovenier, in recent days.

Hill expressed his belief that formal recognition of Kosovo would not be a condition for Serbia's entry into the European Union but rather the normalization of relations with Pristina. Two days earlier, Hovenier stated that the dialogue process between Kosovo and Serbia should end with mutual recognition.

According to Latinovic, there are no substantial differences in these statements; it's a matter of nuances and interpretation.

“What Ambassador Hill said should be read between the lines, bearing in mind that he maintains good relations with all officials in the country where he is accredited. He was referring to Serbia's path to the European Union, stating that it will not be a condition as long as five EU member states do not recognize Kosovo. This cannot be a formal or de jure condition for membership, and the entire process led by the EU is about normalization. Nowhere does it specify recognition,” Latinovic emphasized.

As she adds, all agreements since the Brussels Agreement of 2013 are about normalizing relations, aimed at regulating the relations between Belgrade and Pristina.

“The agreements from last year, which I colloquially call Brussels 2 and the Ohrid Agreement, or the roadmap for implementing these obligations, also talk about normalizing relations. Therefore, there should be no significant difference in the positions of the US ambassadors in Belgrade and Pristina. Jeffrey Hovenier certainly takes into account how his statements will be received by the authorities where he is accredited. The point is that the American goal, or intention, is for the entire process to end with the recognition process, which is nothing new and has been known to us as a consistent stance of the American administration. So, there are no major differences,” Latinovic said.

She explained that the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, as envisioned, has two phases: the first being the normalization process, which means the full implementation of the Brussels Agreements 1 and 2, i.e., the agreements from 2013 and 2023, which should be the framework for Serbia's EU membership and are included in the negotiation Chapter 35, outlining the conditions to be met.

“It is envisioned that after this, negotiations on the overall regulation of relations would follow. Whether and when this will happen is now a hypothetical question,” Latinovic concluded.