Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Thursday criticized Kosovo’s formal application for EU membership, saying it was a «violation» of pre-existing agreements between the parties.
Vucic has pointed out that the Kosovar authorities have proceeded to violate the pact known as the Washington Agreement and with which the parties agreed to agree on a process of normalization of their economic relations in September 2020, during the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump.
«We will respond precisely to this later tonight after the Cabinet meeting,» he said in statements to RTS TV. He also noted that the meeting will allow the government to address the situation around UN Security Council resolution 1244, which authorizes the international presence in Kosovo.
The Serbian government also plans to take a decision on whether to ask the international forces deployed in Kosovo to include Serbian troops or agents in the north, where the situation has recently worsened.
The Washington Agreement, which was signed by Vucic and the then head of Kosovo’s government, Avdullah Hoti, included a commitment that Pristina would not apply for membership in international organizations, something that has now been violated.
This very Thursday, the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, handed over the formal application for membership of the European Union in a symbolic visit to the Czech Republic, which holds the rotating presidency of the bloc until December 31.
Kurti stressed that this is a «historic» milestone for the former Serbian province and hopes to receive «as soon as possible» the questionnaire to be filled in by Pristina in order to move forward in this complex process.
