The professor of “Johns Hopkins” University in the United States of America, Edward Joseph, says that sending the draft statute of the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority to the Constitutional Court may be a condition from the QUINT states, for Kosovo’s membership in Council of Europe. He emphasizes that Kosovo’s membership in this organization is a big step that above all would show the Serbian president, Aleksandar Vucic, that his strategy to isolate Kosovo is not working.
The American foreign policy analyst, in an interview for KosovaPress, says that the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue has stalled, while he qualifies Prime Minister Kurti’s request for signing the Brussels Basic Agreement and the Ohrid annex as preposterous.
According to him, the establishment of the Association may be right, but if it is done in accordance with the laws and the Constitution of Kosovo and not a second “Republika Srbska”. However, he points out that the Serbs in Kosovo can be given a more limited form of autonomy in order to give up the division of Kosovo, and Serbia to recognize the independence of Kosovo.
For KosovaPress, he also talks about the replacement of the European mediator for dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, and Kurti’s relations with the Biden Administration and the dinar issue.
According to him, the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, has canceled the Brussels agreement, so it is important that in the current circumstances we have stronger guarantees for its validity through signing.
However, the American professor says that if the Association is done properly, it could be a good step towards resolving the deadlock in the dialogue.
Speaking about the role of Miroslav Lajcak in the dialogue, Joseph says that he has worked hard and that he knows the Western Balkans quite well.
According to him, the next special representative should be from a country that recognizes Kosovo, while he expresses his reservations about the former Slovenian president, Borut Pahor, who is being mentioned as a possible replacement for Lajcak.
As for Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s relations with the Americans, he says that they are not good and that this is a pity, since Kosovo needs the United States of America.
According to him, the differences were more prominent in the decision on the dinar, which had to be closely coordinated with the allies.
