Gabriel Escobar said tonight that he was satisfied with the conversation with the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, and that he liked the tone and content of the discussion.
In an interview with Euronews Serbia, he emphasized that there is no formal deadline for reaching an agreement between Belgrade and Pristina, but that the desire is for the process to end as soon as possible.
“We would like an agreement as soon as possible. If we had it tomorrow, we would accept it tomorrow. If it takes two years, then two years. But we have to move quickly, because every confrontation we see between Kosovo and Serbia is more and more dangerous”, Escobar said.
According to him, the last dispute over the barricades could have been violent, and that is why it is urgently necessary to work on it. “What I want to see at the end of the process is the commitment of the European Union to the expansion to the Western Balkans and the countries of the Western Balkans right on the path of integration into the European Union in a reasonable period.
“By reasonable, I don’t mean 20 years. I mean much earlier,” Escobar said.
He reminds that the ongoing dialogue is a process under the auspices of the European Union and that is why he does not want to speak on their behalf, but that the US fully supports that process and “we will support that Serbia and Kosovo take concrete steps in the best possible way”.
He assessed that the formation of the Community of Serbian Municipalities was already too late. “It is a legally binding international obligation of Serbia and Kosovo. Therefore, one party and one person cannot give up that obligation. So, the community will be established, and the question is how to get there sooner,” Escobar said explicitly.
Answering the question of whether a solution is possible without Serbia formally recognizing the so-called Kosovo, he reiterated that a solution is not possible if these crises in the region continue.
“If these disputes between countries continue that can lead to violence, then it is also not possible,” says Escobar. Escobar reiterated that he sees a solution to the dispute in European integration and breaking down barriers in the Western Balkans. “If we had a single license plate system for the entire Western Balkans, we would not have this dispute”.
We would like that we have a real benefit for the people in Serbia, to issue their ID cards and license plates in line with the European norm, where Europe would accept your ID cards if you go through EU checkpoints at airports, so you don’t have to wait six hours to get to Greece during the summer.
“That’s the type of solution we’re proposing. That’s the bottom line,” says Escobar.
Escobar, when asked if accelerated European integration is part of the final agreement, said that he did not know because the USA is not part of that process, but that he would “without a doubt support it, not only for Serbia, but for the entire region”.
Escobar reacts to the statement that the USA has been supporting Kosovo for years by remarking that they also support Serbia and that they support deeper relations between the USA and Serbia.
He expresses his belief that all the countries of the region should recognize each other “because what defines the Western Balkans is the incredible economic potential it has, which is increased when you work together”. Escobar also said that he is not convinced that no Serbian politician will accept the recognition of Kosovo.
