The extraordinary session of the UN Security Council on the situation in Kosovo, which was requested by Serbia, is scheduled for Thursday at 21:00 CET, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic confirmed for Radio-Television of Serbia (RTS).
It is not yet known whether the session of the UN Security Council, chaired by Guyana, will be open to the public, RTS reported.
On Monday, Serbia requested an extraordinary session of the UN Security Council due to the situation in Kosovo and new tensions fueled by Pristina’s decision to abolish the Serbian dinar in payments and trade, which Belgrade sees as an illegal decision and an attempt to completely ethnically cleanse Serbs from that area.
In Kosovo, on February 1, the decree of the Central Bank of Kosovo (CBK) entered into force, which foresees cash payments and payments exclusively in euros, which increased the concern of the Serbian community because they receive salaries and pensions from Serbia in dinars, which they use for buying and selling.
The State Department and the European Union expressed concern
The international community previously requested that Kosovo postpone the implementation of that decision, citing concerns that it could have a negative impact on Kosovo Serbs.
The concern was highlighted by the State Department and the European Union in official statements, indicating the consequences that the CBK’s decision to abolish the dinar in payment transactions could have on the daily life of Kosovo Serbs, tens of thousands of whom receive dinar salaries and pensions through the Serbian treasury.
Washington called on Kosovo “to immediately postpone the implementation of the decision, until satisfactory procedures in accordance with European standards are fulfilled” and “until the population is sufficiently informed about how the transition will be carried out”, with a longer transitional period.
French Ambassador: There should have been more consultations
This request to the authorities in Pristina was also repeated by the countries of the Quinte – USA, Great Britain, France, Germany and Italy, the French ambassador to Kosovo, Olivier Guérot, confirmed to the Kosovo media. We demanded that a transition be made before that regulation is implemented, Guérot told Kosovo media.
He pointed out that there should have been more consultations and information before its application and finding technical solutions, the Kosovo online portal announced.
“The goal of the regulation is greater transparency (in financial transactions) and we support that, but it has the potential to directly affect how the Serbian community will operate, how these people will receive salaries and pensions, and we would like to have more consultations before implementation, because we are talking about specific issues that affect a large number of people”, emphasized the ambassador of France in Pristina.
Pristina sees mutual recognition as the key to normalization
Guérot repeated the request of the Quinte countries that Pristina fulfill its obligations and continue with the formation of the Union of Serbian Municipalities in Kosovo, which Belgrade insists on in the dialogue under the auspices of the European Union.
The French diplomat also said that he does not see a better solution for the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina than the Franco-German plan supported by Brussels, which both sides agreed on in February last year, and then in March in Ohrid, they accepted the amendment on implementation. of that plan.
Meanwhile, the dialogue has stalled in a dead end because Pristina sees mutual recognition, which Belgrade categorically rejects, as the key to further normalization of relations, N1 writes.
