In an interview to Deutsche Welle, Austrian diplomat Wolfgang Petritsch said that even after the secret meeting in Washington between Kosovo and Serbia presidents, Hashim Thaci and Aleksandar Vucic, it will take time for Belgrade to agree to Kosovo’s membership of the United Nations.
Marko Djuric was arrested in Kosovo and later released. What does this mean?
This is concerning because it was a dramatic development with a major potential for escalation. I am pleased that he was released so quickly, because otherwise it would question a very important step forward reached at a secret meeting between the two presidents in Washington. According to a gentlemen’s agreement, Serbian politicians from Belgrade are allowed to enter the north. So far no request was turned down. I don’t know the exact circumstances, how it happened or why he was arrested by special police. Anyway, I am pleased that it was all over quickly.
In Kosovo it is said that President Thaci launched an initiative for the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities. Today there was news that a group of Serbian ministers wanted to enter northern Kosovo as part of efforts for internal Serb dialogue. This was seen as provocation in Kosovo. What is your assessment?
We need to acknowledge that internal Serb dialogue is a significant achievement by the Serbian President to inform Serbs, in Serbia proper but also Serbs living in other countries such as Bosnia and Croatia, that there is integration underway. Ultimately, internal dialogue will ensure support for the difficult road ahead.
You mentioned the secret meeting in the U.S. Last Friday there was a meeting in Brussels, and according to our impression, the tone there was not quite reconciliatory …
The fact that there was no euphoria maybe should be seen from the fact that this position is related to the domestic front or is “for domestic consumption”. From what I hear from Brussels, there is a basic agreement between Belgrade and Pristina to resume negotiations. And certainly this means, first and foremost, that there is a will to form the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities. In this respect, Pristina has not made any steps forward since 2013. I think this is the most important. If this is achieved, then there is a certain psychological barrier that needs to be overcome. Lack of trust must be addressed and this can be done gradually. This is the problem. In general, I think the process has entered its final phase. I am pleased that Djuric was released. The arrest could have caused another problem. At the same time, this has shown that both sides are nervous.
It is said that Serbia would agree to Kosovo’s membership of the United Nations. But after the meeting in the U.S., there was no more talk about this. Why did this happen?
This is Pristina’s objective. And it will surely take time for Belgrade to agree to this. This is the most difficult thing, but I believe the willingness to find a solution here is very important. One must also mention Russia’s position. Nothing would function without an agreement at the Security Council.
What do you expect now, after yesterday’s incident, and Djuric’s return to Serbia, what is going to be the next step?
Work must resume now and a solution must be found for the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities. I think this is the decisive cornerstone. Then there will be talk of UN membership or something similar for Kosovo. Because there are several models except for full membership, so we need to see if there are mediate phases. This is going to be the most difficult step for Belgrade to agree in some way on Kosovo’s UN membership.
The internal dialogue in Serbia that we have been talking about for weeks and months has not had much echo in the public. There is the impression in Serbian public that not much is happening. Do you see this differently?
You are right. Those that take part in dialogue are certainly the most committed groups. I don’t see much engagement from civil society here, namely from the more liberal and open non-governmental organizations. They must understand that this is an important step. Internal dialogue is needed. It takes a national effort that goes above parties and disputes in civil society so that they pursue the same objective together with the government. It is very important for different players in Serbia to be presented in unity.
