Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will meet with US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Palmer next week in New York, during a session of the United Nations General Assembly, diplomatic circles say to Belgrade based daily Danas.
Sources of Danas state that Vucic is due to leave for New York on September 23, and according to announcements on the official UN site, debates at the UN General Assembly, will last from September 24 to September 30. The Kosovo issue is expected to be a major topic of discussion between Vucic and Palmer.
Recently Serbian media reported about phone conversation of Vucic and Palmer, who agreed to meet again in the next ten days.
Some representatives of Western diplomatic circles told Danas that US involvement in resolve of the Kosovo problem is “visible”, but that frequent claims by some Serbian media that “Belgrade-Pristina deal is possible already by the end of this year” do not ”sound realistic”.
”The US will try to get the agreement concluded before the US presidential election in November next year, but this is not certain either, as the text of the agreement need to be aligned with the EU and especially with the two leading countries – Germany and France. This will take time, diplomats say, assessing that Palmer was “a logical choice for the US envoy to the Balkans, as he was familiar with the situation in the region two decades ago, including the events in almost every village in Kosovo “.
Diplomats reiterate that negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina will not resume until the Kosovo parliamentary elections, scheduled for October 6, are completed, “and even when those elections are over, at least a month or two should be expected to form a new government and a new negotiating team.”
“Then the decision of the next Kosovo government on the fees should be awaited, as Belgrade will not negotiate without abolishing them. Meetings of representatives of the two sides could also delay Kosovo’s possible admission to Interpol. Certainly, a final decision on Kosovo will not be reached before the March parliamentary elections next year in Serbia, as this may carry the risk that part of the public will not support a compromise solution and therefore be reflected in the result of the ruling SNS. The authorities in Serbia will therefore seek to reach a broader consensus after the elections for a final decision on demarcation in parliament and on the political scene, to be supported by the Serbian Orthodox Church, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, University, Kosovo Serb representatives, influential NGOs. organizations,” sources of Danas indicate.
