The US special envoy for the region, Gabriel Escobar, in an interview for the VoA, said that he expects to have a proposal from the Kosova government for the Association of Municipalities with a Serbian Majority by May 2 when the leaders of Kosova and Serbia meet in Brussels.

“I hope that by May 2 there will be a concrete proposal”, said Escobar, as he further added that there has been progress regarding this issue and an extraordinary evolution in the attitude of the government of Kosova, and in particular the prime minister, to accept this legal obligation.

“It is an existing obligation under the Brussels Agreement and it was very difficult for this government and party to accept it as mandatory. But now they are considering it as an obligation, they have agreed with it and have said publicly what the framework and parameters of the Association should be. And we agree with these parameters,” says Mr. Escobar.

The top State Department official said the US will recognize Sunday’s election in northern Kosova even if Serbian List boycotts it, saying the boycott does not define the election.

“We have called and I have personally asked the Serbs, the Serbian List, to participate and not give up their role. The fact that they do not participate is their decision. But these are foreseen by the Constitution. There are unfilled places. There are people who are not receiving services from local government because there is no participation. So if these elections are free and fair, and I predict they will be, the result will be legitimate from our point of view,” Escobar underscores.

He said he hopes that the Serbs in Kosova will find a way to return to the institutions. However, Escobar said that the boycott should not delay the establishment of the Association.

Escobar praised the Ohrid agreement as “extraordinary” and said that if it is properly implemented, it would usher in “a new era in peaceful relations between Serbia and Kosova” and pave the way for their Euro-Atlantic future.

/k.s/