29 Oct 14
The Kosovo President is mulling whether to attend the Trilateral Commission in Belgrade, amid arguments that she should not attend a conference in a country that does not recognise her own.

Nektar Zogjani
BIRN
Pristina

Days before she is due to attend a major conference in Serbia, the President of Kosovo, Atifete Jahjaga, is still mulling whether to attend the event or not.

Presidential spokesperson Arber Vllahiu confirmed that she had received an invitation, but said "the invitation is still being analyzed, including the protocol aspects surrounding it.

"The public will be soon informed about what the answer will be," he told Balkan Insight.

The Trilateral Commission is a non-governmental discussion group founded in 1973. It exists to foster closer cooperation between the Americas, Europe and Asia.

However, the President of Kosovo faces a diplomatic dilemma in going to Serbia because Serbia does not recognise Kosovo's independence, declared in 2008.

"A visit by a Kosovo President to Belgrade... should serve as a concluding act to a process of normalization of relations and peace between the two countries," a Kosovo international relations expert, Gent Gjikolli, said.

"Otherwise, her visit to Belgrade could serve to justify Serbia's policy of opposing the legitimacy and independence of Republic of Kosovo," he added.

A chaotic football match between Serbia and Albania in Belgrade on October 14, which collapsed in violence about half-way through, has added to tensions between Albanians and Serbs in the region.

The Albanian Prime Minister, Edi Rama, has since postponed his visit to Belgrade due on on October 22 because of the ugly atmosphere that developed during and after the match.

Gjikolli said the President also needed to remain in Pristina to continue leading talks between political leaders on resolving the political stalemate on forming a new government. “Her participation in this conference would be meaningless,” he maintained.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 but Belgrade has vowed never to recognise the new country.

The countries have, however, been engaged in EU-led talks on the "normalization" of relations and the sides have signed an agreement in April 2013.

A joint report by the Pristina-based Democracy for Development, D4D, and its partner from Slovakia, the Central European Policy Institute, CEPI, presented last week, urged the Kosovo and Serbian governments to revitalize the dialogue.

According to the report, new momentum is needed in the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue after the timeout caused by elections in both countries.