Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said he would not sign a plan to normalize relations with Kosovo because of clauses related to mutual recognition and Kosovoʼs entry into the United Nations.
This is reported by Balkan Insight.
"We are ready to discuss the implementation plan, but I will not sign it. [...] This is what I said to [French President] Macron and [German Chancellor] Scholz in Munich, as well as to all major leaders — we cannot talk about mutual recognition and Kosovoʼs entry into the UN," Aleksandar Vučić said on television
Vučić agreed with the need to normalize relations with Kosovo and said he was ready to work on it. "Letʼs make reasonable compromises about real life," he added.
He said the next meetings with EU Ambassador Miroslav Lajčak would focus on the implementation plan, adding that pressure on Serbia was likely to continue because they needed "some kind of result" before the next European Council meeting on March 24.
- On February 27, 2023, a high-level meeting was held in Brussels within the framework of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue. The topic of the meeting was the European proposal for the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia. According to the plan ( here it is ), the parties should develop normal, good-neighborly relations with each other on the basis of equality, as well as mutually recognize documents and national symbols, including passports, diplomas, license plates, and customs seals. In addition, the European proposal provides for the resolution of any disputes among themselves exclusively by peaceful means and refraining from the threat of force or its use. The plan also stipulates that Serbia will not object to Kosovoʼs membership in any international organization.
- At the meeting, the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo said they did not object to the plan, but refused to legally sign it as an agreement. In March, they should agree on a road map with the terms of implementation of the plan.
- In return, Kosovo agrees to the creation of a mechanism for "adequate self-government" of the Kosovo Serbs and their direct financial support from Serbia. Also, in Kosovo, the status of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the protection of Serbian religious monuments should be legally established. And the EU undertook to create a special fund to finance joint projects of Serbia and Kosovo.