Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti announced Monday night that he is postponing a decision on fines for Serbs residing in the region following a request from the United States.
«I thank (U.S.) Ambassador (to Kosovo Jeff) Hovenier for his commitment and involvement. I accept his request for a 48-hour postponement of the imposition of license plate fines (…),» the Kosovar prime minister announced through a message on his Twitter social network profile.
«I am happy to work with the US and the EU to find a solution over the next two days,» he added, after Hovenier stated that Washington was «concerned that the leaders of Kosovo and Serbia were unable to reach an agreement» during the day on Monday.
Serbia and Kosovo ended Monday without agreement the high-level meeting between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti, organized in Brussels to resolve the crisis opened by the controversial rule to impose Kosovar license plates to Serbian communities, after Pristina had rejected a proposal of the European Union to achieve a rapprochement.
In a statement without questions after the meeting, the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, has informed that the meeting of more than eight hours has ended without agreement between the parties, after the Kosovar authorities have rejected the proposal put on the table by Brussels to solve the crisis, an initiative that Belgrade did support.
Kurti later justified his rejection of the proposal presented on Monday by the European Union to solve the tuition crisis on the grounds that it is not accompanied by a commitment to «a final agreement for the normalization of relations» with Serbia, Pristina’s ultimate goal.
In a message on social networks, Jeton Zulfaj, advisor to the Kosovar prime minister, accused the EU of giving up on its own proposals as Pristina was ready to conclude an agreement on the tuition fees controversy in exchange for a commitment to conclude the normalization of relations with Serbia by March 2023, something Belgrade has rejected.
The Kosovar prime minister’s words were quickly answered by EU foreign spokesman Peter Stano, who dismissed as «false» Pristina’s allegations and has pointed out that the EU remains committed to the normalization proposal and demands the parties to reach an agreement soon on the text.
