Savkovic: The dialogue has been in crisis for a long time, Kurti announced that he would stop it and is persisting in that

Marko Savkovic, Senior Advisor at the ISAC Fund, stated that it is not surprising that yesterday's round of dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina in Brussels was unsuccessful, adding that the positions of the two sides are very distant, and it is evident that Pristina is determined to halt the dialogue, which, as he noted, Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti announced several years ago.

"The dialogue has been in crisis for a long time. I see this as part of the EU's efforts to try to manage the conflict, which is essentially what it has been doing for some time now since there has been no concrete result from the dialogue," Savkovic told Kosovo Online.

He pointed out that the positions of the two sides are very far apart.

"It is evident that the authorities in Pristina are persisting and likely succeeding in something that Prime Minister Kurti announced several years ago, which is that he would practically stop and reconstruct the dialogue, and we are seeing that now. He is using a policy of fait accompli, and he is succeeding because he operates within the bounds of not doing anything that Western countries see as exceeding constitutional powers. He always says that he is upholding the rule of law," Savkovic noted.

Savkovic pointed out that the EU is negotiating when it comes to the pace and manner in which Pristina is implementing its actions.

"We are slowly becoming aware of this, and I fear that, in the end, the citizens living in northern Kosovo and other Serbs will have to become aware of it as well," Savkovic concluded. He added that Belgrade has been approaching the situation with considerable caution and reservation, and now it seems that there is not much that Belgrade can do.

"A return to the previous situation, to what we refer to when we talk about the status quo ante, does not seem likely, it does not seem possible," Savkovic believes.

Nevertheless, he noted, the EU can always apply restrictive measures, as it has done with the Kosovar side in the past.

Although, as Savkovic pointed out, it doesn't always seem that way, restrictive measures and certain sanctions, especially in terms of high-level visits, have existed.

"There have been threats of suspending some programs, but that hasn't happened. When you look at it, the impression is that, on one hand, Pristina claims the EU is being unfair, while the Serbian side believes that the EU is too tolerant of this behavior. This is why I think the answer is that Western countries do not see what is happening now as something beyond the framework of Kosovo's Constitution," he explained.