Vuletic: The Quint is not bringing a new plan, but they are coming to exert significant pressure on Belgrade and Pristina

The visit of the EU envoy and the four Quint countries – the United States, France, Germany, and Italy – to Belgrade and Pristina aims to implement what has already been initiated by the Ohrid Agreement, according to sociologist Vladimir Vuletic. He expects pressure to be exerted on both sides to fulfill their commitments.

Vuletic points out that the Ohrid Agreement implies that both parties complete their part of the work independently of each other, regardless of whether one or the other fulfills their obligations or not.

He expects that there will be quite a lot of pressure on both Serbia and Kosovo.

"That's what the Quint will try to do in both Belgrade and Pristina," Vuletic adds.

He doesn't believe the "big five" will offer new ideas for resolving the situation because, as he says, they are convinced that French President Emmanuel Macron's and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's plan is ideal and should bring stability to the Balkans.

"They believe the problem lies in the plan not being implemented, so I assume they will exert pressure and use everything at their disposal to make the plan a reality. Their concept and idea are to start implementing what was agreed upon in Ohrid," Vuletic emphasizes.

The EU Special Representative for the Dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, the US Envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, and the envoys of the leaders of France, Germany, and Italy – Emmanuel Bonne, Jens Ploetner, and Francesco Talo, will visit Belgrade and Pristina.

Responding to whether their arrival, together with Lajcak, can also be seen as additional support for the European envoy, given that Pristina had objections to his mediation after the last round of high-level talks in Brussels, Vuletic emphasizes that the US and the EU will not allow anyone to determine who will be part of their delegations.

"Of course, the US and the EU will not allow either Pristina or Belgrade to decide who will be members of their delegations. If that were to happen, it would actually mean that they have no influence on the process. This is one of Pristina's games, a way to counter-pressure the group, but there is no doubt that it won't succeed," Vuletic concludes.