Surlic: Kurti has no interest in making any concessions before the elections

Assistant professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences, Stefan Surlic, points out that the upcoming high-level meeting in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue is likely to end in failure, as Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti has no interest in making any concessions before the elections in February. Surlic says that Kurti will continue to behave as he has so far, with the goal of undermining the idea of the Community of Serb Municipalities.

Surlic tells Kosovo Online that a failure is expected, just like in the previous high-level meeting in Brussels, emphasizing that the dialogue has long become a dialogue between Belgrade and Brussels, rather than between Belgrade and Pristina.

“I especially don't see any interest from Albin Kurti to make any concessions before the elections in February – he will probably insist on opening the bridge, explaining why these institutions, which have been closed for several days, can no longer function, and that will be the end of it,” Surlic said.

He adds that Kurti will continue to push demands such as Kosovo becoming a member of the Council of Europe and other international organizations, while expecting Serbia to be proactive in this regard.

“None of that rhetoric will change,” he said.

According to Surlic, this represents a race against time, with a much larger goal beyond the election campaign.

“And that is to permanently undermine the idea of forming the Community of Serb Municipalities,” Surlic concluded.