Milivojevic on the Franco-German plan: It is not an ultimatum - there is room for compromise

Former diplomat, Zoran Milivojevic, assessed today that despite the new negotiation framework, i.e. the Franco-German plan for solving the Kosovo issue, there was room for compromise because, as he says, if it were a final ultimatum, there would be no negotiations but "take it or leave it" situation, RTV reports.

"It is completely clear that we are entering a new phase of our negotiations with the EU, that the accession negotiations are gaining a new character, the absolute dominance of geostrategic and geopolitical interests, which give priority to the conditions in the negotiation process and give priority to the resolution of the Kosovo issue," Milivojevic told Tanjug and added that he also meant Chapters 23 and 24, reforms and everything else.

He stated that, according to what had been heard from President Aleksandar Vucic, there had also been threats during the talks with international mediators on Friday, which, he adds, speaks of the delicacy and nervousness of the West.

"There is an obvious nervousness and interest in ending things quickly and efficiently, which means that the issue that is their priority, which is the outcome in Ukraine, has absolute priority, even to the extent that they insist that things here be resolved quickly," Milivojevic said and emphasized that it was clear that the region and Serbia had become one of the issues directly related to geostrategic interests and the outcome of the war in Ukraine.

This, as he assessed, was something that burdened the position of Serbia and added that solutions should be sought between their strategic goals and ours. According to him, it was obvious that this was the beginning of another type and character of negotiations related to the state and national interests of Serbia, but also that the interest was to resolve things in favor of peace and stability in these areas, and that there the interests had to overlap, and that there should be room for compromise.

"The only thing that can guarantee peace and stability and closure of the interests of one and the other side is a compromise, and in that compromise, I see the fact that negotiations are being entered into. So, there are elements of an ultimatum, but we are still entering into negotiations - if it was finally an ultimatum, it would not be the negotiations, it is clear to all, it would be a “take it or leave it” situation," Milivojevic said.

He stated that the Franco-German proposal had several aspects and added that, if you looked at the epilogue of President Aleksandar Vucic's conversation with the international "five" on Friday, it seemed that this was the culmination of pressures in this phase of solving the Kosovo knot.

That, he says, is the first message, while the second is that the definitive position of both Brussels and Washington and the transatlantic community is that the European proposal is a platform for future talks to resolve the Kosovo issue and Europe's mediation in them.

As he believes, the third message is that this region, led by Serbia, and Serbia become one of the geostrategic goals and interests of the transatlantic community regarding the new redistribution in Europe due to the situation in Ukraine, and the fourth is that solving the Kosovo and Metohija issue gets priority even when it comes to our European integration, and our strategic goal.

"In other words, the president's assessment is correct that this was a new negotiation framework, that a consensus had been reached on it and that it became a priority issue in our relationship with the EU and our strategic approach to European integration," Milivojevic explains.

He also assessed that this was probably an attempt to resolve the issue on the lines of strategic interests in the previously mentioned deadlines, which had to do with the expiration of the administrations in Brussels and Washington, in order to definitely include the region in the transatlantic community.

Milivojevic believes that it is no coincidence that the US Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, speaks directly about this.

"It is important to say that all the delicacy of the negotiations is understood, that it is recognized that Serbia's interests and objective circumstances must be taken into account, and that is why Washington's insistence on putting the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities first is not accidental," Milivojevic said and added that it was not just a verbal statement by Washington, but that the steps illustrated by the invitation of the US embassy in Pristina to political actors to respond to the talks on the CSM would be implemented.

He believes that the CSM will be a separate topic, stating that the positions of Serbia and the Western centers diverge and that the difference is that we think that the matter has been resolved, and negotiated and that everything is only a matter of implementation, while the other side is obstructing the status and powers of the CSM.

Milivojevic assessed that the basis of the European plan, which unequivocally exceeded the strategic goal, was to complete the issue of Kosovo's independence, including its entry into the UN.

According to his words, this plan created the possibility and space for the Western centers and Brussels and Washington to overcome their differences, to overcome the problem of five EU member states that did not recognize the independence of Kosovo and four of NATO by making sure that Serbia took the main step.

As he says, the fact that these countries also accepted the European plan shows that the plan offers them a way out of the situation that is destroying the cohesion in the Western alliance regarding the position on Kosovo.

He emphasized that entering into negotiations was best illustrated by Escobar's statement in which he emphasized that he recognized that both sides saw the possibility of reaching a solution, which, he added, showed that it was in the West's interest to reach a solution, that everyone found satisfying; that peace and stability had been ensured.

Milivojevic also assessed that it was clear from the European plan or proposal that their goal was to confirm the reality of Kosovo's statehood implicitly and explicitly.

"That is what will be crucial - everything can be discussed and solutions should be sought except for the fact that Serbia accepts that Kosovo is independent, that it changes its own borders," Milivojevic said.

He added that if we wanted peace and stability, a compromise had to be sought, but one that did not include the maximalist demands of any of the three parties.

"Within those frameworks, a solution should be sought, but it should be taken into account that it is not possible under any circumstances, no matter what, to secure the majority or the consent of Serbia to give up part of the territory voluntarily and to change the character and state of the country in that way,” Milivojevic said.