Janjic: A preparation for a new format of talks (Danas)
The new meeting of Serbian and Kosovo President Aleksandar Vucic and Hashim Thaci, with the EU mediation, to be held in Brussels on Friday, a preparation for a new phase of negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina, writes the Belgrade daily Danas.
President of the Forum for Ethnic Relations Dusan Janjic told Danas that the meeting will be at the highest political level, which will start in May, adding that yesterday's negotiations at the technical level are also an overture for that meeting.
- It is necessary to continue technical discussions on numerous issues, and the most important one is the procedure for the establishment of a community of Serb municipalities (ZSO), that is, whether the statute will be passed or this will be done through the law, and other issues, such as freedom of movement and energy, are significant. After that, Vucic and Thaci should verify on Friday what is eventually agreed at the technical level. In any case, they are preparing for a new format of political negotiations, which includes and consideration and discussion about the fulfilled and unfulfilled obligations, in order to discuss these as of May and onwards, Janjic says.
Janjic says that the formation of the Kosovo Army was not the subject of the previous rounds of Brussels negotiations, but that "it would be good for Serbia to discuss the whole package related to the security domain at the next stage". "This wider view of security would be beneficial for the Serbs in Kosovo, not only for the Albanians there, because it would also involve cooperation in areas of interest to all, such as joint action in crisis situations," he notes.
Janjic also notes that in Brussels an investigation of the murder of Oliver Ivanovic will be discussed and expresses the hope that, finally, the agreement on the ZSO will be reached.
According to Mogherini's office, Vucic-Thaci's meeting will discuss the comprehensive normalization of Belgrade-Pristina relations, as well as the reached agreements earlier, writes Danas.