The Head of the Office for Kosovo in the Serbian Government, Petar Petkovic, has again criticized Kosovo during the meeting with the ambassadors and representatives of the QUINT countries and the head of the European Union delegation in Serbia, saying that Kosovo is “the only culprit that causes the crisis “.
According to the announcement of the Office headed by Petkovic, the new round of dialogue in Brussels will be held next week and the key topic will be the decision of Kosovo to stop using the Serbian dinar for making payments.During the meeting with diplomats from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and the EU, Petkovic said that the issue of using the Serbian dinar in Kosovo should be resolved as soon as possible and emphasized “the readiness of Belgrade from the beginning of this process to find a compromise, a stable and acceptable solution”.
He added that Kosovo is imposing “Impossible conditions and obstacles” with the “purpose of not reaching a compromise and deepening the crisis even further”.Kosovo and Serbia have exchanged accusations for the failure to reach a solution in the dialogue in Brussels so far, as the EU expects the parties to find a solution based on the proposal of the bloc’s special envoy, Miroslav Lajcak, during the next meeting. which is held in mid-May.
EU spokesman Peter Stano told Radio Free Europe on April 29 that the parties have presented their positions and proposals during past meetings, adding that the EU’s proposal aims at “a compromise solution”, as he did calling on the parties to accept it.
However, Stano did not specify what the solution is.
On February 1, the new regulation of the Central Bank of Kosovo entered into force, which envisages the euro as the only currency for making payments.
The international community has asked Kosovo to postpone the implementation of the regulation, in order to find a solution for the population in the north of Kosovo – inhabited by a majority of Serbs – who are affected by the decision.
Serbs in Kosovo, for years, have been accepting payments in dinars from the Serbian budget.
During the meeting with QUINT and the EU, Petkovic also said that Belgrade will not give up on the request to establish the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority in Kosovo.
He said that the Association “is a prerequisite for ensuring the individual and collective rights of Serbs” in Kosovo.
Kosovo and Serbia have reached two agreements on the Association – in 2013 and 2015 – but Prishtina has not yet taken steps towards its establishment.
The Government of Kosovo has expressed itself against a single-ethnic association. /REL
