Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Glauk Konjufca, speaking about the Kosovo–Serbia dialogue, stressed that the biggest problem is the breach of trust that Serbia has inflicted on Kosovo.
He blamed Serbia for what he described as attacks against Kosovo’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
“Attacks such as the one in Banjska and the attacks on the Iber-Lepenc canal all demonstrate that Serbia’s involvement in these two attacks is direct. The links these groups had with Serbian institutions are direct. Therefore, how can we sit down with a party which, while we are at the dialogue table, organizes actions behind our backs that strike Kosovo’s territorial integrity and sovereignty,” Konjufca stated.
Asked about remarks by the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, who said that high-level dialogue meetings are being delayed due to frequent election cycles in Kosovo, Konjufca said this is not Kosovo’s fault.
“This is not our fault. Elections in Kosovo should also be understood from the perspective of democracy and our state capacities, which have taken a long time to build, so that the political system and democracy can absorb political crises. We are aware that this slows Kosovo down because it also damages the sequencing of the implementation of the Growth Plan for Kosovo. We have approved it, but the way it will be implemented and the financial obligations the EU carries out within this plan are being harmed,” he said in a statement to the media following the meeting of EU and Western Balkans foreign ministers chaired by Kallas.
Konjufca expressed skepticism that there will be positive movement regarding meetings within the framework of the dialogue with Serbia, adding that Kosovo is currently in an electoral process, while Serbia will also hold elections at the end of the year.
He added that it remains to be seen how developments will unfold in 2027.
“Ms. Kallas and all the states expressed readiness to contribute to building this trust, but Kosovo is in an electoral cycle and Serbia will also hold elections at the end of the year. I do not expect much from this dimension anytime soon. We will see in 2027 how things develop. But I do not expect any initiative in the coming months of this year,” he said.
He added that Kosovo has made positive steps regarding European integration.
Konjufca stressed that they have always maintained that the Western Balkans cannot be complete as a European Union integration project without Kosovo receiving candidate country status for EU membership.
“I called on all states and on Kallas to consider this step as soon as possible. We need accession negotiations with the EU to begin, and at the same time I presented the key security challenges regarding the Western Balkans. I emphasized that, for Kosovo, the greatest threat comes from the policies of the Serbian state. I also made it clear to them that Serbia’s non-recognition of Kosovo’s independence and its direct involvement, or involvement through groups such as the one in Banjska, as well as the financing of some structures, constitute a threat to Kosovo. At the same time, I pointed out that Russian influence in the Western Balkans is seen as coming through Serbia,” Konjufca said.
Speaking about European funds from international agreements, Konjufca said that those dependent on parliamentary decisions will be lost, while those dependent on the Government will move forward, adding that Kosovo has a functional government.
“A part of what we can do together as financial support does not require Parliament, but some parts are directly linked to the functioning of Parliament. At the moment, we do not have a Parliament. For all those parts foreseen in the Growth Plan that require an international agreement or are offered in the form of loans made possible as direct EU funds, and for which parliamentary decisions are essential, we will lose them. As for those linked to governmental agreements with the EU, we have a government that is functional in every aspect, and these will proceed. However, part of the damage will occur because we are being forced into extraordinary elections that were completely avoidable,” he said.
