Milenkovic: Dialogue will be partially frozen until the elections in Kosovo and the US are concluded

Marko Milenkovic from the NGO "New Social Initiative" tells Kosovo Online that the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina has been degraded and undermined on the ground by unilateral actions and moves in the recent period, which is why he does not expect any progress in this process until the elections in Kosovo scheduled for February 9th.

Everything that was agreed upon in the previous period, he says, has been nullified or set aside, and there has been no concrete engagement, primarily from Pristina, regarding the dialogue and the implementation of agreements.

"In the coming period, I expect further escalation of narratives and rhetoric from Pristina, primarily in a nationalist spirit. I also expect new actions that will further undermine what was agreed upon in the dialogue. This will continue to some extent, as it seems that the mood of the electorate in Kosovo is such. What we have seen in the recent period from some opposition parties is not encouraging in this sense. It seems that all political options are entering into a mode of nationalist rhetoric, and that will actually dictate the campaign, which is not good for the Serbian community, does not benefit Serbs in Kosovo, and will lead to further tensions and escalations, making Serbs feel uneasy here in Kosovo,” Milenkovic notes.

He expects the dialogue to be partially frozen because, at this moment, he does not see the will or strength from the EU to restart the dialogue.

"The dialogue will need to change its format or working methodology because the previous approach has simply not yielded results. We must also take into account the US elections because the focus of the American administration is on those elections, as we see that the race for the US presidency is uncertain. I see an opportunity for the dialogue to start again after those elections, but we need a stronger and more concrete approach from the international community, which we have not had in recent months, or even years. The international community must guarantee the implementation of what has been agreed upon. This has been lacking in the previous period. We have not had sufficient strength from the European Union to push these processes forward and to guarantee their implementation. I do not expect the European Union to have that strength in the coming months or even the next year, but I do expect that perhaps the US, with greater engagement and a concrete approach, could support the dialogue and accelerate progress in this process,” Milenkovic says.