Serbia and Kosovo must resume dialogue broke down almost eighteen months ago on Friday, with a videoconference summit encouraged by the European Union and the Franco-German couple, in order to try to resolve one of the territorial conflicts the thorniest in Europe. Since the proclamation of its independence in 2008, Kosovo has been recognized by more than a hundred member countries of the United Nations and 22 states out of 27 in the EU, which is therefore divided on the issue. A major obstacle remains: Belgrade still refuses to recognize the independence of its former southern province after the bloody war of the late 1990s. And without the Serbian endorsement, whose position is followed by Russia and China, impossible for Kosovo to hope for formal recognition from the United Nations.
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According to the French Presidency, the summit on Friday - at the initiative of the Macron-Merkel couple - therefore aims to "relaunch the dialogue" to "allow the EU to facilitate the resolution of their differences" . It must start at 10:30 a.m. (Paris time). It is to bring together Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovar Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti, President Hashim Thaçi, who is indicted for war crimes, being prevented. Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel, as well as the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borell and the EU Special Representative for the Western Balkans Miroslav Lajcak are also expected to participate in this high-level summit.
This first step must be followed two days later by a meeting of the two leaders in Brussels, a first since November 2018. "It is no coincidence that we continue the dialogue on Sunday, after the meeting on Friday," stressed Peter Stano, spokesperson for the EU external services. "These are complementary events." What will be the state of mind of the leaders? In a speech to the Nation on Tuesday, the Serbian president warned that he expected no gifts to be given to him at the summit. "What awaits us is a difficult summer and autumn when it comes to Kosovo," he said.
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Europe regains control of this file while Washington also wants to play the mediators in this file. The United States, which had been one of the main actors in NATO's operation against the Serbs in 1999, wanted to organize a Serbia-Kosovo summit in the White House on June 27. But Hashim Thaçi's indictment for war crimes during the conflict with Serbia by prosecutors at the Special Court in The Hague at the same time had led to his indefinite postponement. Hashim Thaçi had even turned back while he was already on his way to the United States.
Kosovar President said he would resign "immediately" if the charges of the Special Tribunal for Kosovo were confirmed by a formal charge. He is due to travel to The Hague on Monday to be heard. International justice accuses him, as well as his political ally Kadri Veseli and others, of being "responsible for almost 100 murders" , enforced disappearances, persecution and torture of Serbs, Roma and Albanians from Kosovo.
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In the meantime, it is therefore his Prime Minister who must participate in these events. Avdullah Hoti met on Tuesday with President Emmanuel Macron who was due to receive the Serbian President on Thursday evening. They spoke of "the revival of the normalization dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo, which is an essential element for the stability and security of the Western Balkans and the respective prospects for accession to the European Union of the two countries" , explains the French presidency.
Last conflict in the former Yugoslavia, the Kosovo war between Serbian forces and Kosovar Albanian separatist guerrillas killed more than 13,000 people, most of them Albanians. It ended when a Western bombing campaign forced Serb forces to withdraw.
