The American special envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, and the EU special envoy for dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, spoke on Monday before the ambassadors of the NATO member countries in Brussels in an informal meeting of NATO Council.

During their joint visit to the NATO headquarters, they also had a meeting with the Deputy Secretary General of NATO, Mircea Geoana.

According to announcements from NATO, their meetings were part of regular consultations on the situation in Kosovo and general developments in the Western Balkans region.

“Deputy Secretary General [of NATO] Geoana underlines the intensive efforts of the NATO Alliance and the European Union to reduce the recent tensions, especially in the north of Kosovo. He has also highlighted the key support provided by the NATO-led KFOR mission and the EU Rule of Law Mission (EULEX) in the successful removal of roadblocks, which helps in the full return of freedom of the movement in the entire territory of Kosovo”, says the announcement issued by NATO after these meetings.

“KFOR remains extremely vigilant and has the capacities and personnel to continue the implementation of the UN mandate in its entirety and on a daily basis, for the benefit of all communities living in Kosovo. This contributes to security in Kosovo and to stability throughout the region,” the announcement states.

For 20 days in a row, in December of last year, groups of local Serbs blocked the roads in the north of Kosovo, as a sign of dissatisfaction with the arrest of a former Kosovo Serb police officer.

Dejan Pantiç, according to the authorities, is suspected of organizing the attack on the offices of the Central Election Commission in the north of Kosovo, inhabited by a majority of Serbs.

However, the decision of the judicial authorities in Kosovo on December 28 to change Pantiq’s security measure from detention to house arrest paved the way for the removal of the barricades. After that, the representatives of the Serbs in Kosovo declared that their demands for the removal of the barricades had been met.

In the NATO announcement, the Alliance’s support for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia with the mediation of the European Union has been expressed once again.

“NATO also continues to support the EU-facilitated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina – as the main platform to build lasting peace and security across the region and for all efforts aimed at advancing the region’s Euro-Atlantic integration of the Western Balkans”, says the NATO announcement.

At the end of this NATO communique, it is said that “during their visit, Escobar and Lajcak informed the NATO ambassadors about their strengthened joint diplomatic efforts and engagement with all parties in the region.”

Kosovo and Serbia have been holding a dialogue mediated by the EU since 2011. The negotiations are also supported by the United States.

The dialogue process is said to aim to conclude with a legally binding agreement. However, the parties also have differences regarding the end of the dialogue. Kosovo demands that an eventual agreement include mutual recognition, while Serbia has expressed that it wants a compromise solution, without specifying what kind of compromise it is.

/k.s/