Odalovic: Our side respected the signed agreement in good faith, unlike Pristina

The President of the Commission of the Serbian Government for Missing Persons, Veljko Odalovic, says that he expects that the Serbian President will present more details from the talks with international representatives tonight, as well as that he will repeat Belgrade's red lines in Ohrid, RTS reports.

"Our side, in good faith, respected what was signed, unlike Pristina. If the CSM had been formed, everyone would have enjoyed the benefits," Odalovic said.

Two days before the meeting in Ohrid, numerous meetings were held at the highest level. Yesterday, US Secretary of State and Special Envoy for the Western Balkans Gabriel Escobar arrived in Belgrade, and before that, Miroslav Lajcak stayed in Belgrade and Pristina.

Odalovic expects that President Vucic will announce more details about the talks with international representatives this evening.

"There is not much except for general information, announcements, and messages, but I expect that our red lines will be repeated in Ohrid," Odalovic noted.

He believes that the international community is close to realizing why it is necessary to form the CSM first and what ten years of inaction and avoidance have led to.

"We were on the verge of serious potential conflicts, even though we did not provoke them, and Kurti, with various moves, the militarization of the north of our southern province, arrests, harassment, and everything we went through, showed that he was ready for more serious conflicts to achieve his planned goal and establish full control over the council," Odalovic said.

He expects that the president will insist on Belgrade's positions and that he will receive the support of international officials for such a thing.

The involvement of the US provided new strength

Odalovic points out that the involvement of the US and its high representative indicates that there is a new wind and new strength, as well as a document that opened the process to a new dialogue and that the international community decided to make Pristina fulfill its obligations.

"Europe was powerless, Pristina ignored the dialogue led by international officials, and their refusal to discuss anything other than international recognition was unacceptable to us," Odalovic said.

He notes that the Brussels Agreement from 2013, the Implementation Plan from 2015, as well as the obligations that were contracted before 2013, were supposed to help both Serbs and Albanians and not only solve Serbs' problems.

"Serbia respected what was signed in good faith, and Pristina did not want to fulfill anything. The international community had no way or did not want to force Pristina to fulfill its obligations. If the CSM had been formed, everyone would have enjoyed the benefits," Veljko Odalovic concluded.