The fifth meeting of the chief negotiators of Belgrade and Pristina, Petar Petković and Besnik Bislimi, under the auspices of the European Union, ended in Brussels on Thursday without concrete progress in the normalization of relations between the two countries, and after the Serbian dinar was abolished as a means of payment in Kosovo.
In a statement to journalists after the meeting, which lasted seven hours, Petković said that the issue of the Serbian dinar must be resolved urgently, but that he is not optimistic because the further course of the talks does not depend on Belgrade, which also came to this meeting with constructive proposals.
“We had the opportunity to present our proposals on the ideas of the EU and to resolve the dinar issue, but Albin Kurti’s policy is to expel the Serbs from Kosovo, and with the decision to abolish the dinar, he threatened the survival of the Serbian people,” said Petković.
Petković said that the talks will continue on May 13, but that Bislimi is not interested in Serbs who want to leave Kosovo, but those who want to integrate into Kosovo society.
“The whole time, Bislimi was making jokes, drawing parallels, saying that he is not interested in Serbs who want to leave Kosovo, but Serbs who want to integrate, which confirmed that Kurti’s policy is that there are no Serbs in Kosovo,” said Petković and added that all this was not would have happened if the Union of Serbian Municipalities (ZSO) had been formed.
On February 1, a decree of the Central Bank of Kosovo (CBK) entered into force in Kosovo, which provides for cash payments and payment transactions exclusively in euros, which increased the concern of the Serbian community in Kosovo because tens of thousands of Serbs receive salaries, pensions and social benefits in dinars. which they use for both buying and selling.
Adviser to the Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, Klisman Kadiu, said in a statement to Fena that Brussels is not discussing the CBK decree, but rather how Serbia, in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Kosovo, will send financial aid to the Serbs in Kosovo.
Kosovo’s chief negotiator Besnik Beslimi said after today’s meeting that Serbia has worrisome attitudes when it comes to the transfer of money from that country to Kosovo, and added that the EU’s special envoy for dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajčak, will come up with a new proposal that the parties will have to agree to. answer at the next meeting.
“The position of the Serbian side is that all illegal structures in Serbia should continue to be financed until the establishment of the ZSO, because in their opinion the purpose of that community is not to ensure good coordination between municipalities, but to ensure the legitimacy of Serbian institutions in Kosovo, which would make them semi-Serbian institutions, but not institutions of Serbs in Kosovo,” said Bislimi.
For Kosovo, the decision to abolish the dinar in payment transactions is a finished story and will not be reversed, and the Kosovo example Albin Kurti pointed out that the Kosovo Government will not interfere in the CBK’s decision, but a deadline for adjustment will be determined.
The abolition of the dinar also caused concern in the European Union due to the consequences that this decision could have on the everyday life of Kosovo Serbs, and the international community previously requested that Kosovo postpone the implementation of the regulation, pointing out the possible negative impact on Kosovo Serbs.
Kosovo, on the other hand, insists on transparency in monetary transactions and claims that Serbia misuses money on behalf of Kosovo Serbs.
