After more than a month since her visit to the Western Balkans, during which she left Belgrade off her itinerary, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kalas is expected to arrive in Serbia tomorrow evening, and analysts estimate that during her talks with Serbian officials, two topics will be in focus: the relationship with Russia and Serbia’s dialogue with Kosovo, according to media in the region.
Igor Novaković, Research Director of the ISAC Fund – Center for International and Security Affairs, says that they will certainly be on the same level as those sent by the European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos and the President of the European Council Antonio Costa.
He adds that it should be borne in mind that two topics are very important for Kalas.
The first topic is the European Union’s relationship with Russia and therefore Serbia’s positioning in the context of the sanctions that the EU has imposed on the Russian Federation and certainly in relation to Serbia’s position towards Ukraine. The second topic is the issue of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue.
“There are rumors that Kalas is much more interested in the topic of dialogue than the previous High Representative. And there is the question of her relationship and how it will all work together with the Special Representative for Dialogue, Mr. Peter Sorensen,” says Novaković.
Kaja Kalas spoke about this very topic three days ago in Tirana on the eve of the European Political Community Summit. When asked by reporters what she expects from the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, she reminded them that the EU appointed a new Special Representative for Dialogue, Peter Sorensen, a few months ago.
“Of course, I expect normalization of relations,” she said on the eve of the European Political Community summit in Tirana.
Strahinja Subotić from the Center for European Policies said earlier that we should not forget that the new head of EU diplomacy comes from Estonia.
“She will certainly raise the Russian issue because she has already warned that the EU does not approve of going to the parade in Moscow on May 9. In addition, she will also talk about obligations towards Pristina because the political situation in Kosovo is expected to have stabilized by then,” Subotić believes.
As he says, for Kalas, any cooperation with Russia is a “red line”.
“That is why she has already received strong reactions from both Viktor Orban and Robert Fico, who have said that Kalas does not have the mandate to tie the hands of EU members in conducting foreign policy like that,” concludes Subotić.
Kalas recently visited the Western Balkans, but skipped Belgrade, and Latinović says that this was not usual for her predecessors.
According to unofficial information, Kalas will arrive in Belgrade tomorrow evening, and the official program of the visit begins on May 22.
