Odalovic: Djuric sent a good message that the Belgrade–Pristina Dialogue will not be about recognition, but about the CSM

President of the Commission for Missing Persons of the Government of Serbia, Veljko Odalovic, stated today that Foreign Minister Marko Djuric had sent an exceptionally important message when he said that the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina is not and will not be about mutual recognition, but about the establishment of the Community of Serb Municipalities (CSM), adding that all Serbian state officials should continue repeating and emphasizing this, RTV reports.

“Chapter 35 is a basket for all other issues on the path of European integration, and for us that chapter concerns the Kosovo issue, and they are now openly saying that this is a condition without which there can be no EU membership for Serbia,” Odalovic told TV K1.

Commenting on the fact that EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas confirmed yesterday that the frequent election cycles in Kosovo are the main reason why there has been no new round of high-level dialogue between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti, Odalovic said that everything Kallas does and says produces no positive results, only negative ones, adding that she has never sent a good or positive message, RTV reports.
“The EU is imposing conditions and standards on Serbia for membership that were never imposed on anyone else,” Odalovic stressed.

He also pointed out that whenever Serbia “jumps over one hurdle, they raise the bar even higher,” adding that it is only a matter of time before they raise the bar so high that it becomes impossible to clear — and that issue is Kosovo.

Speaking about today’s session of the Serbian National Assembly, where proposed amendments to four electoral laws in line with ODIHR recommendations are on the agenda, Odalovic said these are recommendations that must be incorporated into legislation in order to be implemented in future elections.

All EU recommendations that Serbia is implementing are for the benefit of its citizens, Odalovic said, adding that although the country is pursuing the European path in the manner expected in Europe, it is Europe itself that is obstructing the process.

“They are announcing the European integration process for two more countries, while ignoring us and pushing us backward. I am interested to see how they will view the fact that we did not impose sanctions on Russia once they themselves begin making arrangements with Russia,” Odalovic remarked.
Regarding the resignation of Christian Schmidt as High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, he assessed that this indicates the United States wants to reassert its influence in the Western Balkans after the region had long been removed from the sphere of American interest.

As he stated, although Germany largely stood behind all of Schmidt’s decisions, the United States has now “pulled the handbrake” and said this can no longer continue, considering that no one in Europe prevented him from everything harmful he had done or sent him a message to stop.

“It seems to me that the United States pragmatically put a stop to this, because everything he was doing was leading toward the collapse of the Dayton Agreement. I expect America to now become involved in the Kosovo elections as well,” Odalovic concluded.