TIRANA – EU envoy for Kosovo-Serbia dialogue Miroslav Lajcak has pledged that the Union is engaged for the start of the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia as soon as possible.
Speaking from Pristina on Tuesday after a meeting with President Hashim Thaci, Lajcak said he wishes the achievement of a final agreement between Kosovo and Serbia. In the meantime he called for close EU-US collaboration on the issue but hinted that he had not yet been invited to attend Washington talks.
US envoy Richar Grenell announced on Monday that a meeting will take place in Washington D.C. on June 27 with the participation of senior leaders of Kosovo and Serbia.
Lajcak said that everything which has been achieved in Pristina-Belgrade dialogue is the result of joint and close work between the US and the EU. “It is precisely with this ambition that we continue in this way. We expect very close cooperation with the US,” he said on his first visit to Kosovo as EU envoy for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.
Thaçi received Lajcak on Tuesday despite repeated statements that he was not going to do so, because his country, Slovakia, does not recognize Kosovo and voted against its membership in UNESCO.
Brussels’ envoy said that his mission is to help reach a “legally binding agreement between Kosovo and Serbia that will normalize relations and solve all problems, and will be acceptable to the countries of the region and the EU member states.”
Further on, he said that he hoped that the process will continue and there will be a meeting even in Brussels.
Lajcak is quoted by exit.al as saying that Kosovo needs visa liberalization before sitting in EU-led talks with Serbia, which must conclude in mutual recognition. “The official position of the state of Kosovo in this process is that it should start with visa liberalization and should be concluded as soon as possible with mutual recognition,”said Thaçi.
In the meantime Lajçak pointed out that he would continue to communicate with President Thaçi and the other political leaders of Kosovo. /argumentum.al
