Kosovo’s President, Vjosa Osmani, stated on Friday that Kosovo cannot be expected to implement obligations from the agreement with Serbia while Belgrade refuses to take any steps toward its implementation. She also raised the possibility of Kosovo unilaterally implementing the agreement in exchange for international guarantees on security, new recognitions, and membership in international organizations.
“If our international partners are interested in us sitting down with them and linking Kosovo’s implementation of agreements to international support—guarantees for security, recognition, and membership in international organizations—this would be a new situation. However, so far, there has been no concrete response from the international community on such a proposal,” President Osmani said, emphasizing that this idea is her personal opinion and not an official stance of Kosovo’s institutions. Speaking to Kosovapress, Osmani noted that such an approach had brought benefits to Kosovo in the past.
“My stance, as I have previously stated, relates to the methods we used in 2007-2008, when Serbia was non-compliant. At that time, Kosovo acted unilaterally in implementing the (Martti) Ahtisaari package, which resulted in independence, recognitions, and membership in international organizations,” she added.
In September, during an interview with Voice of America, Osmani called for greater coordination with the United States to open more pathways for Kosovo in foreign policy through its membership in international mechanisms.
Osmani also accused Belgrade of attempting to destabilize Kosovo through measures announced at the end of last month, including declaring Kosovo a zone of special social protection and extending Serbian judicial authority to prosecute crimes committed within Kosovo’s territory. Serbia claimed the legislation was aimed at protecting the rights and social security of Serb citizens in Kosovo.
These draft laws have been criticized by both the United States and the European Union, which have deemed them violations of Serbia’s obligations under the Brussels dialogue process.
The European Union today reiterated its call for both sides to avoid “unilateral” actions and to implement the agreement on normalizing relations. EU spokesperson Peter Stano stated that the bloc will continue facilitating dialogue as long as Kosovo and Serbia remain interested in the EU membership process.
“Since last year, when the agreement was reached in Ohrid, the parties agreed or accepted that progress in dialogue is linked to progress in their EU membership process. So, without dialogue, there is no accession process,” Stano explained.
President Osmani reaffirmed that it makes no sense for Kosovo to be the only party required to implement obligations while Serbia remains inactive.
Kosovo and Serbia continue to accuse each other of lacking readiness to implement the agreement. Serbia insists on establishing the Association of Serb-Majority Municipalities, while Kosovo accuses Serbia of partial implementation by ignoring its own obligations.
