Lajčak says that Serbia withdrew Ana Brnabić's letter about the Ohrid agreement

AUTHOR: M.J.
The Special Representative of the European Union for the dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade, Miroslav Lajčak, said on Friday that Serbia withdrew the letter sent to Brussels last year, in which it expressed reservations regarding the Agreement on the way to the normalization of relations with Kosovo.
The then Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabić, sent a letter to the EU last December in which Serbia expressed reservations regarding the Agreement on the Road to Normalization of Relations, reached in Brussels, and the Annex for the Implementation of the Agreement, which was agreed upon in Ohrid.
She stated in the letter that the agreement is considered "acceptable only in a context that does not refer to the de facto and de jure recognition of Kosovo."
Lajčak, after a meeting with Kosovo's Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bisljimi in Pristina, said that the letter had been withdrawn and that the agreement was still valid.
He also said that from time to time statements are heard that do not help the implementation of the agreement.
"No, the Ohrid Agreement is legally binding and we are working on its implementation. "None of the parties withdrew from this agreement and we are talking with Kosovo and Serbia about how to speed up its implementation," said Lajcak.
The 11-article agreement, among other things, foresees the level of self-governance of the Serbian community in Kosovo and the mutual recognition of state symbols, and Pristina and Belgrade are required to implement all previous agreements reached during the dialogue.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić addressing the media after the marathon talks in Ohrid, March 18, 2023.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora of Kosovo, Donika Gervala (Gervalla), when asked to comment on Lajčak's statement, said that she was at a meeting with her Turkish colleague, when the EU special representative said that Serbia had withdrawn Ana Brnabić's letter, and that there was no concrete information about it. .
"I think that Mr. Lajčak is talking about the partial withdrawal of that letter of the former Prime Minister Brnabić, which, however, does not give up the non-recognition of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Kosovo, which is a completely unacceptable approach for us," said Gervala.
At the meeting in Pristina with Bisljimi, who is also the chief negotiator of Kosovo, Lajcak said that an agreement had been reached for a new round of dialogue at the level of the chief negotiators, but he did not specify the date of the meeting.
He pointed out that he discussed numerous issues with the Kosovo negotiator, including the opening of the main Mitrovica bridge for traffic.
"We also talked about the Mitrovica bridge and its opening to traffic. I believe that the position of the EU is known, but I will repeat it: the bridge must be opened, but its opening must be done in cooperation with Kosovo's international partners," Lajcak said.
This time, according to Radio Free Europe sources in Brussels, Lajcak will not visit Belgrade after Pristina.
Last Sunday, during his participation in the security forum Globsec in Prague, he met with the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić.
The European Union, but also the United States, France, Great Britain and Germany criticized Kosovo for what they said were recent unilateral and uncoordinated actions in the north of the country.
Brussels warned the Kosovo authorities that "the failure of the parties to de-escalate tensions will have consequences."
These criticisms came after the Kosovo authorities on August 30 closed five parallel Serbian institutions in the north of the country - the part where the majority of Serbs live - which they said were operating under the leadership of Serbia, "violating the constitutionality and laws of the Republic of Kosovo".
The institutions closed by the Kosovo Police on August 30 are: Kosovo District Mitrovica, the parallel municipality of Mitrovica, the parallel municipality of Zvečan, the parallel municipality of Zubin Potok and the parallel municipality of Leposavić.
In Kosovo, there are municipalities, public enterprises and enterprises, kindergartens, primary and secondary schools and public universities that are directly financed by the Government of Serbia, and which are located in cities and towns where Serbs live.
According to the laws of Kosovo, these institutions are illegal.
In 2013, in the dialogue for the normalization of relations in Brussels, Kosovo and Serbia reached an agreement on the closure of parallel institutions, but the agreement has not yet been fully implemented.