Stefanovic: Kurti unilaterally denied the license plates agreement; the Serbs' reaction was natural

The former main Serbian negotiator in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, the current Party of Freedom and Justice MP, and the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Serbian Parliament Borko Stefanovic said that the withdrawal of Serbs from Kosovo institutions was natural after the unilateral move of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti regarding license plates, Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK) reported.

"After being the main Serbian negotiator in the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue for a long time, I did not think this process would last so long, even with the EU mediation. We hoped to help people on the ground," Stefanovic said in his interview for RTK.

He added that the situation was problematic, full of tensions and problems.

"A lot needs to be done in order to avoid a possible confrontation in Kosovo. I see the dialogue that started more than a decade ago at a stage where, unfortunately, the CSM (Community of Serb Municipalities) has not yet been implemented, although both sides have accepted it since 2013. Another problem is that Kurti's government continues to put pressure on the Serbian community in Kosovo and tries to break every agreement reached so far in the technical dialogue," Stefanovic said.

Stefanovic reminded that Kurti unilaterally denied the license plate agreement by denying KS plates.

"The withdrawal of the Kosovan Serbs from Kosovo institutions was natural; now we have a security vacuum with new potential crises that may arise," Stefanovic noted.

He added that for the return of Serbs to the institutions of Kosovo, the CSM should be established and pointed out that Kurti has been receiving messages from Washington and Brussels to postpone the decision on new license plates implementation, as well as to form the CSM.

"We would like to negotiate and resolve mutual disputes for every open issue as soon as possible because we want to have the security and prosperity of Serbs in Kosovo. License plates should not be something that someone could lose their life for. Serbia will continue with the symbolism policy," Stefanovic stated.

Stefanovic also said that he had not seen the draft of the Franco-German plan for the Kosovo-Serbia issue solution, so he did not want to comment on it, but he said that it should speed up the resolution of the Kosovo-Serbia issue. He proposed an agreement based on the formula of two Germanys.

He indicated that Kurti would put his cabinet's stability at risk if he continued to behave the way he has been, and added that Serbia and Kosovo should resume dialogue as soon as possible.