Mihajlovic: Pahor is well-intentioned, but I don’t believe he would achieve much as a mediator

There is no doubt that Borut Pahor is well-intentioned when he says he would like to succeed Miroslav Lajcak as the mediator in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, says Novica Mihajlovic, a journalist for the Slovenian newspaper "Delo" speaking to Kosovo Online. However, he assesses that "the puzzle of how to solve the situation with Kosovo is much bigger and stronger than all the former presidents."

Mihajlovic emphasizes that there is no doubt about Borut Pahor's intentions and that his goal is to maintain peace in the region.

"Surely, that is his goal more than someone who does not live so close to the region and who does not have that connection to the region. Now, whether someone could be more satisfied with Pahor than with Lajcak - I don't believe so, because we all know that the puzzle of how to resolve the situation with Kosovo is much bigger and stronger than all the former presidents. If they sent a former American president, it's questionable how much he could achieve," our interlocutor highlights.

"If he becomes the mediator, Pahor will operate within a predefined framework," believes Mihajlovic.

"The only framework in which anyone in that role can operate - meaning, what we have agreed upon should be respected, respecting some human rights, minority rights, the European path, these are phrases said a million times and I do not believe there will be any changes there," he states.

He reminds that Pahor's desire to help is nothing new and that his affinity for the region is well-known.

"Everything else - how much support could be from key actors, is more or less a puzzle, but knowing what has happened so far, I am not too optimistic that there are high ambitions in place. My first reaction when I heard this was 'why does he need this'. Let him deal with something easier now that he has withdrawn from active politics and my personal opinion is that he won’t achieve much, but I hope I am wrong. How many competitors there could be for that position, I really do not know. Pahor is close to us, he is ours and that's why we know, about others we do not. Considering how difficult the job is, I do not believe there would be a big crowd for it," concludes Mihajlovic.