Kosovo’s Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti has stated that he will discuss mutual recognition with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Monday in Brussels.
Hoti and Vucic will meet on September 7 in the EU-facilitated dialogue, only two days after they signed deals on “economic normalization” at the White House.
The deals were slammed by the opposition in Kosovo and the Speaker of Parliament.
“Based on the commitments we made at the Paris Summit on July 10, 2020, as well as the support we received from President Macron and Chancellor Merkel, on Monday, in Brussels we will meet with the Serbian part to discuss the final agreement on mutual recognition and normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia,” Hoti stated in his social media on Sunday.
“Agreement is reached only when concluded with mutual recognition. There will be no intermediate, partial or creative agreements that do not solve the problem forever,” he insisted.
Hoti’s statement follows earlier promises that he would only discuss mutual recognition with Serbia in Washington on September 4. Serbia’s president had repeatedly denied it. The two leaders signed separate documents titled “economic normalization”, suggesting a partial normalization of relations.
US envoy Richard Grenell also stated that they removed mutual recognition from the separate deals signed in Washington because it would be dealt with in Brussels on Monday.
On the other hand, Vucic said on Sunday that they will discuss the missing persons, the disappeared and economic cooperation in Brussels. He added that he would push for the implementation of the Association of Serb Municipalities in Kosovo.
On Sunday, Hoti and Vucic had separate meetings with EU envoy for the dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, and the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Matthew Palmer.
