Belgrade will, along with representatives of Serbs, start forming the Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO) in Kosovo after February 15.

Director of the Serbian Government Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric said this on Wednesday.

The events will unfold in that way unless the authorities in Pristina start fulfilling their obligations related to the formation of the ZSO by Sretenje (Feb. 15, Serbia's Statehood Day), Djuric said.

Sokol Havolli, the chief of staff and advisor to Prime Minister Isa Mustafa, in an interview with KTV, commented on Belgrade’s recent ultimatums about former Local Government Minister Ljubomir Maric and the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities. Havolli said the Kosovo government has never functioned based on ultimatums, “especially those coming from the Serbian state”.

In case Pristina fails to form the Community of Serb Municipalities in Kosovo-Metohija on its own, the Serbs have the full legitimacy and legality to do so, the chairman of the Serbian parliamentary committee on Kosovo-Metohija, Milovan Drecun, said Tuesday.

Kosovo’s Minister for Dialogue, Edita Tahiri, said for Radio Free Europe that “Serbia does not have any role on establishment of the Association for Serb-majority Municipalities.” According to her, Serbian representatives do not have the authority to deal with the issue. “It is not up to Serbia to impose dates or make pressure,” she said.

Implementation of the agreement on the judiciary means that Serb judges and prosecutors will now participate in the work of judicial institutions in Kosovo.

This significantly boosts the chances of proceedings being based on law, rather than ethnicity, says Milovan Drecun, chairman of the Serbian National Assembly's Committee on Kosovo and Metohija.

"This also means we are a step closer to forming the Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO)," Drecun told state broadcaster RTS on Thursday.

Kosovo’s Deputy Minister for Culture, Youth, and Sports, Rexhep Hoti, reacted to a statement made by Serbian President, Tomislav Nikolic, in an interview for a Belgrade paper where he said that the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities foresees substantial autonomy for the Serb community. In a Facebook post, Hoti said the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities can “never” become substantial autonomy and that such a statement will only harm the Serb community in Kosovo and normalization of relations process.

Kosovo’s Minister for Dialogue, Edita Tahiri informed through a press release that the parties will not discuss the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities during the new round of the discussions with Serbia which will be held in Brussels tomorrow and a day after.

The parties will discuss justice issues and Kosovo’s telephone prefix. Both parties will also report on the achieved progress in fulfillment of the obligations for implementation of these two agreements.

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Isa Mustafa, told the Serbian List that there is no decree on the Association of the Serb-majority Municipalities.

This was Mustafa’s response to the requests of the Serb ministers, Ljubomir Marić and Dalobor Jevtić, who have sent a message to the government of Kosovo that they should endorse the decree for establishment of the Association of the Serb-majority Municipalities if they really want Serbs’ return to the institutions.

Prime Minister of Kosovo, Isa Mustafa, said today at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Rose-Roth seminar taking place in Pristina that the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities will be established. “We've had violent protests but have managed to overcome them. The Association will be established and with regards to demarcation, the government is convinced we have preserved the territory of Kosovo and have not lost an inch of land despite opposition’s claims,” Mustafa said.

Kosovo’s Minister for Dialogue, Edita Tahiri, said today before an Assembly committee that the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities is in full accordance to the constitution of Kosovo and all relevant legislation. Furthermore, she said that the Association/Community statute will be drafted in line with the Constitutional Court’s decision. “The Association of Serb municipalities can in no way become owner of Kosovo’s public assets, be it in the central or local level.