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European Union envoy for Kosovo-Serbia dialogue talks with Bislim and Petkovic - Shqiptarja.com
2025-02-06 21:19:42 / KOSOVA
The European Union's envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Peter Sorensen, said he held separate talks with the chief negotiators of both countries on Thursday, for the first time since his predecessor Miroslav Lajcak took office.
Sorensen wrote on X: "I appreciate the very good conversations and welcome their invitations to visit Kosovo and Serbia."
He did not provide further details about the talks or possible visits to Pristina and Belgrade.
Sorensen, who officially started work on February 1, held these talks a few days after Kosovo's chief negotiator, Besnik Bislimi, and Serbia's, Petar Petkovic, exchanged accusations on social media.
Bislimi accused Serbia of discrimination and hatred against Albanians in the Presevo Valley, while Petkovic accused Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti of wanting Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo to be led by Albanians.
It is not clear when Sorensen might hold the first meeting within the framework of the dialogue, given that Kosovo will hold elections on February 9 and Serbia faces political uncertainty following the resignation of the prime minister.
At their last meeting in Brussels under Lajcak's mediation, on December 17, Bislim and Petkovic agreed on the full implementation of the joint statement on missing persons.
Meanwhile, Sorensen, unlike his predecessor, will only deal with the dialogue between the two neighboring countries, and not with regional Balkan issues.
Sorensen's appointment has been seen as a positive one, given that the 57-year-old knows the region well. A diplomat for many years, he was engaged in Kosovo, within the framework of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), as well as in other roles, in Serbia, North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
According to political experts, he does not need to be informed in advance about the people or historical facts of the region, because he has already had the opportunity to create a close-up overview. Another argument that has been mentioned as positive by officials in Pristina is that he is from Denmark, a country that recognizes Kosovo's statehood, and that he will have equal access to dialogue.
Lajcak has been in the position of mediator for five years. During his mandate, the Agreement on the normalization of relations between the two countries was reached, but no steps have been taken towards its implementation.
In the past, Kosovo leaders, from the country's president, Vjosa Osmani, to Prime Minister Albin Kurti, have criticized Lajcak for an unbalanced approach to dialogue and for occasionally siding with Serbia.
Lajcak himself said in an interview with Radio Free Europe months ago that such claims are unfounded and assessed that societies in Kosovo and Serbia are not ready for normalization.
Kosovo and Serbia have been dialogued in Brussels since 2011./ REL
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