Serbian official Petar Petković has told the European Union’s envoy, Peter Sørensen, that progress in the EU-facilitated dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo depends on Kosovo’s willingness to establish an Association of Serb-majority municipalities, Serbia’s Office for Kosovo said.
Sørensen met with Petković in Belgrade on Friday, two days after visiting Pristina, as part of renewed efforts to make progress in the dialogue on normalizing relations between the two neighboring countries.
Petković, who serves as director of the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia, discussed with the EU envoy the prospects for advancing the stalled dialogue.
According to the Serbian Office for Kosovo, Petković conveyed a “clear message” to Sørensen that any visible progress in the dialogue requires “concrete steps toward establishing” the Association of Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo and opening discussions on its draft statute.
Kosovo and Serbia reached an agreement on the path toward normalization in 2023, known as the Ohrid Agreement, but have failed to implement it. One of the key provisions of the agreement is the establishment of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo.
Kosovo has not taken steps to fulfill this requirement and has also set conditions for Serbia.
During Sørensen’s visit to Pristina on Wednesday, Kosovo’s acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti said that Kosovo is ready to normalize relations with Serbia, but reiterated several demands.
He stated that Serbia must first hand over Milan Radoičić, the former deputy leader of the Serb List, who has claimed responsibility for the armed attack on Kosovo Police in Banjska in September 2023.
Kurti also said that Serbia must withdraw the letter submitted by former Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić to the European External Action Service, which rejects the signing of the Basic Agreement and its Implementation Annex, as a legal guarantee and sign of good faith for moving forward.
Sørensen said in Pristina that he will work to find a way for the two neighboring countries to resume high-level talks in an effort to normalize relations.
Kosovo and Serbia have not held a high-level meeting since 2023, following heightened tensions after the deadly attack in Banjska, in which a Kosovo police sergeant and three Serbian attackers were killed.
This marked Sørensen’s first visit to both countries since his mandate as EU envoy for the normalization dialogue was extended for an additional two years.
During his first mandate, only two chief negotiators’ meetings were held, yielding no tangible results. The lack of progress during that period was largely attributed to internal political developments in Kosovo and Serbia, rather than a lack of engagement by the EU mediator.
