Mitic: I'm afraid the "great powers" might let Serbia down again; establishment of the CSM is crucial

Aleksandar Mitic, a science associate at the Institute for International Politics and Economics, warns that the major powers are once again trying to exert pressure on Serbia to give up Kosovo by setting some new, as he puts it, artificial deadlines in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue.

The "Quint" of EU, US, Germany, France, and Italy envoys brought a "new plan for continuing the dialogue" to Belgrade and Pristina last week, along with deadlines for its implementation, including the draft statute of the Community of Serb Municipalities, modeled after, as EU spokesperson Peter Stano stated, "European models". The dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina will be one of the key topics at today's European Council meeting in Brussels, where leaders of EU member states will gather, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti have also been invited to the EU headquarters.

"The fact is that we are witnessing an attempt to urgently resolve the issue of Kosovo and Metohija, an artificial urgency. These artificial deadlines, which we have witnessed in previous years, are simply an instrument of pressure and essentially do not mean anything. We've had various deadlines before. Just as there's talk now that the issue needs to be resolved before the American or European Parliament elections. We also had that five years ago when the previous American and European elections were held," Mitic says for Kosovo Online.

He adds that Serbia is required to make some gesture at such moments and, as he says, is forced to abandon some of its vital interests.

"A few years ago, the Washington Agreement was signed just before the American elections, which brought nothing except for Israel's recognition of Kosovo. So, we must not get caught up in this game of artificial deadlines imposed by Western intermediaries who are biased and have a very clear goal, which is to round off Kosovo's independence and give it both legality and legitimacy on the international stage. Why should we participate in that game? The Community of Serb Municipalities is an obligation of Pristina and those who are the guarantors of the Brussels Agreement. It was not in Serbia's interest, but that obligation remains, and neither Pristina nor the EU have fulfilled it," Mitic reminds.

He adds that the key provisions of the Brussels Agreement have not been implemented for a whole decade, and Western countries are now trying to "cheat Serbia again by changing the essence of the signed agreement."

"Now, after ten years of the non-implementation of the Brussels Agreement, they are trying in various ways, not just this year, but in previous years as well, to dilute the Community of Serb Municipalities. Even the name has changed, with 'municipalities with a Serb majority' being mentioned. Everything is done to destroy the original document and guarantees, which were originally included in the agreement, i.e., the CSM with executive powers. The CSM without executive powers is an empty shell that serves no purpose. They can establish non-governmental organizations with various Serbian prefixes, but if they are without executive powers, what's the point? It is clear that one of the key goals at this moment is to once again deceive Belgrade in some way," Mitic points out.

He believes that Serbia no longer has a place in negotiations that place predetermined ultimatums in front of it.

"In these conditions, given the level of coordination between the Quint countries and Pristina with the aim of forcing Belgrade to accept the provisions of the Franco-German plan and the Ohrid Annex, given the terror that Pristina is exerting on Kosovo Serbs, the one-sided intermediaries, who are supposed to be mediators but, in reality, come with different, non-diplomatic methods, participation in the dialogue at this moment is counterproductive because it will not lead to any results," Mitic believes.

He adds that the Quint countries are very clear about what their ultimate goal is.

"We hear this both in Belgrade and from US Ambassador Hill and from some other officials. Their goal is for Belgrade to abandon Kosovo and Metohija through the acceptance of these agreements and for the so-called Kosovo to become a state. In such a context, I do not see any interest for the Republic of Serbia to participate in a dialogue with a predetermined outcome, i.e., in a dialogue on the modalities of handing over Kosovo. I don't see any particular reason for that. Of course, one thing is what I think would be right, and another is the pressures we are obviously witnessing. We now have a new set of ultimatums and threats to bring Belgrade back to the dialogue despite everything that has happened in recent months," he notes.

He adds that Western countries constantly return to the events in Banjska on September 24, forgetting what happened before that.

"The Quint and Pristina do this, not just the Kosovo authorities. The Quint gave them carte blanche to do whatever they want, and nobody is doing their job, not KFOR, not EULEX," Mitic stresses.