The French Ambassador to Kosovo, Olivier Guerot, reiterated his position on the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, emphasizing that dialogue is the only true path for normalizing relations and creating better conditions for the lives of all citizens.
“Dialogue has no alternative; it is the only way to solve the problems, to normalize relations, and this is necessary for the people of Kosovo, but also for Serbia. So, dialogue not only has no alternative, but I believe there needs to be a successful dialogue. The lack of results from dialogue shows everything that needs to be done for the people living in Kosovo,” he said.
When asked about the full implementation of all agreements reached in the normalization process between Kosovo and Serbia, he stated:
“In 2013, there were many agreements, many of which were only partially implemented. The Ohrid Agreement that took place in February gives a new strength to all of this, in the sense that if we return to the previous agreements, it creates an objective and very important goals from which the entire population will benefit, and it will bring positive outcomes for neighborly relations. Who benefits from this? The people living near the border, not only the Albanians in Kosovo but also the Serbs in Kosovo. The recognition of documents and all steps of this process are important. So, let me repeat, those who benefit are the people living in Kosovo and those who partly live in Serbia. Perhaps they want their children to study there, to return here—let’s say it plainly, they are Serbs from Kosovo, and it is in their interest to have priorities from both countries to respect this because it is an issue that has continued for a long time and still continues. Kosovo needs to establish the Association of Serb Municipalities. The European Community has done a lot for the introduction of the draft statute, and we expect the Government of Kosovo to take the first steps towards creating this community based on the EU draft statute, and that it will go to Kosovo’s Constitutional Court,” he said.
Further, when asked if Kosovo and Serbia are ready to implement previous agreements and if there is political will from both sides to carry out what has been agreed, he replied:
“For this, you should ask President Vučić and Prime Minister Kurti. Because I think the way to the EU for both countries is to adhere to what has been agreed. It has been agreed to normalize relations, as an ambassador I can only comment on what is happening in Kosovo, but the majority of the population, which has nothing else but European and Euro-Atlantic integration, supports this, and we support it. We have taken steps in this direction by implementing the agreement and sending the special draft statute of the ASM to the Constitutional Court, and this is very much welcomed on the road to EU integration, which we absolutely support,” he stated in an interview with RTK2.
