Stankovic: CSM as a neuralgic point

According to the political analyst Dejan Vuk Stankovic, the meeting in Brussels between Belgrade and Pristina should not be expected to yield significant results since the entire dialogue under the auspices of the EU has been rendered meaningless, Sputnik reports.

Stankovic says that there should not be high expectations from the meeting, bearing in mind the character of the recently held elections in Kosovo, which were boycotted by the Serbs, and the recognition of those elections by the international community, that is, the political West, which is unacceptable for Serbia.

He assumes that the Community of Serb Municipalities and missing persons will be discussed in principle, expressing greater optimism about the results of the missing persons discussion.

"As for the CSM, it remains the neuralgic point of these negotiations. Kurti is obviously prepared to go to the end in relativizing that issue. As we see, in parallel with the negotiations, he is talking about opening a bridge in Mitrovica, which is unacceptable even to Lajcak, although he finds the election results acceptable. So, altogether, we should not expect much from that meeting, and the real surprise will be if anything happens in a positive direction," Stankovic said.

As he stated, there is no political atmosphere or clear principles.

"There is no independent mediation between the two sides that would lead to an agreement, primarily on individual issues. In addition, the status of Kosovo, which will not be easy to resolve in spite of everything, remains an eternal issue, especially not in the way Kurti and a part of the international community, specifically the political West, want it to be resolved," Stankovic added.

He emphasized that, even after this meeting, there could be no minimum positive result for Serbia, as it had been waiting for ten years and the CSM had not been formed during that time.

"There is no minimum or maximum result in negotiations, only a result that would consist of giving a certain level of political self-government to Serbs. From what I can see, Kurti is not prepared for that, and the very fact that he organized and conducted these elections in the way he did and claims that they are legal and politically legitimate is a clear indication that he will move towards not having the Community of Serb Municipalities. It seems to me that the epilogue of all these discussions will be that there will be no CSM, but there will also be no international recognition of Kosovo's independence by Serbia. So we will enter a zone of security and political vacuum permeated with great uncertainties, in which really anything will be possible," Stankovic said.

He emphasizes that this seems like a realistic epilogue to these talks because nothing suggests that they are going in the direction of a constructive political atmosphere.

"The Albanians see the talks as a game with a zero-sum outcome, which means everything to them and nothing for the Serbs at the negotiating table, and for them, the 'Croatian scenario of 1995' is legitimate, so there is not much room for hope that there will be any substantial progress," Stankovic said.

Regardless of all the efforts from Belgrade and various initiatives that have gone towards improving relations, Stankovic doubts that anyone intends to move towards creating a balanced political proposal that would minimally protect the interests of Serbs and Serbia and also satisfy Albanian aspirations.

"For such a thing, there is no readiness in the West, and the West is the only one that essentially controls this process. Russia and China, as great powers, can only act through the Security Council, which is blocked. So, the EU mediation, which is what it is, is accepted, and there is a sinister inertia that is even more enhanced by the fact that in the West, they are categorical about recognizing Kosovo, while diplomats such as Lajcak and Borrell, who come from two countries that have not recognized Kosovo, are putting symbolic pressure on us. So, all together, that is the scene that is set, and it does not promise at all that any agreements will be reached," Stankovic concluded.