Kosovo Serb representatives warned on Tuesday that they will leave both central and local institutions if Prishtina does not establish the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities (ASM).
“This is not anger, it is not a threat, it means life to us,” the head of the Serbian List party, Goran Rakic told the media following a meeting with Petar Petkovic and Marko Djuric, the new and former director of Serbia’s Office for Kosovo.
The Serbian List is one of the ruling coalition allies that supported the Hoti government with a minimum of 61 votes required.
Petkovic expressed his assessment that Prishtina does not want to establish the ASM, Serbian news agency Tanjug reported.
Djuric, who was recently appointed ambassador to the U.S., said that Belgrade is facing difficult times when it comes to resolving the Kosovo issue. He added that Kosovo is trying in every way to avoid the establishment of the ASM.
On Monday, Kosovo reiterated that it will not sit in more talks with Serbia on the ASM, despite the latter’s insistence, but will instead implement the deal agreed in Brussels in 2013.
“Kosovo concluded the negotiation process on the Association when an agreement was reached[…] Consequently, the Government of the Republic of Kosovo will not accept this topic to be on the negotiating table, but will respect the obligations of the [already] reached agreement, which later have been regulated by the decision of the Constitutional Court,” Koha daily quoted the prime minister’s office on Monday.
Three days ago, EU envoy Miroslav Lajcak urged Kosovo to implement the deal without delays. He is visiting Kosovo today to meet with institutional and political leaders.
The ASM was part of the 2013 Brussels Agreement between Kosovo and Serbia. It stipulated that Serb majority municipalities in Kosovo will be able to form a self-governing association with full governing power in many areas, including education, health, economic development, urban planning.
In December 2015, Kosovo’s Constitutional Court ruled parts of the 2013 agreement unconstitutional, and the establishment of the association stalled.
