Chief negotiators of Kosova and Serbia, Besnik Bislimi and Petar Petkovic, once again failed to reach consensus during their meeting on Thursday, October 24, in Brussels regarding the path forward in normalizing relations between the two countries.

In a trilateral meeting mediated by European Union envoy Miroslav Lajcak, both negotiators stated they only managed to agree on a few “less significant” issues.

After the meeting, Kosova’s chief negotiator, Besnik Bislimi, emphasized that the primary focus was on finding a way to fully implement the Basic Agreement, which Kosova and Serbia had agreed upon at the beginning of 2023.

“Unfortunately, there was no result on the main topic for which we gathered. In terms of moving forward in normalizing relations, Serbia seems to still insist on partial implementation, adhering to the idea that ‘we do something, and you do something,’” Bislimi stated.

Conversely, Serbia’s chief negotiator, Petar Petkovic, asserted that Belgrade is “not shirking” its obligations stemming from the Basic Agreement but insisted that Prishtina should be the first to act by starting with the establishment of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities. “The essence of that Agreement from Ohrid is, first and foremost, the formation of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities,” Petkovic insisted.

Kosova maintains that this agreement must be signed first, even though the EU states it is binding for both parties regardless of signing. Kosova has previously accused Serbia of seeking only partial implementation of the agreement.

Regarding the establishment of the Association, which is one of Kosova’s primary obligations under this agreement, Bislimi affirmed that his country would not evade its commitments if the Agreement is signed.

This was the first trilateral meeting in over three months, as recent discussions between Bislimi and Petkovic had failed to yield an agreement to meet together.

/a.p./