Kosovo and Serbia: ready for a deal?
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti are due to sign an agreement in Brussels on Monday that aims to prevent escalations in the conflict between the two countries. However, there are still major reservations about the Franco-German plan on both sides, and commentators fear that the signing could fall through at the last minute.
No way to say no
The international pressure to adopt the agreement is enormous, Jutarnji list comments:
“Judging by all we have heard over the last few days, Aleksandar Vučić and Albin Kurti have no choice, they've been backed into a corner. A scenario in which their meeting in Brussels today is unsuccessful is all but out of the question. Any outcome other than the adoption of the agreement, which according to EU and US diplomats can no longer be negotiated but has to be approved now, would be a failure. The EU and the US have put too much effort and prestige into drafting this proposal for them to give the parties the chance to simply reject it now.”
Signing of the pact remains unlikely
Večernji list, on the other hand, says it is unlikely that the document will be approved today:
“If Serbia and Kosovo were to accept the EU- and US-backed plan, it would be a de facto recognition of Kosovo as an independent state on Serbia's part. ... Sources close to the Serbian government have confirmed to Večernji list that this will not be the case because Vučić sees the recognition of Kosovo as treason and a red line he must not cross. At the same time, the establishment of the Community of Serb Municipalities is unacceptable for Prime Minister Albin Kurti as well as the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, yet there is no compromise in the Franco-German Kosovo Plan - it's take it or leave it.”
Kosovo was and is part of Serbia
Belgrade must not allow Kosovo to be taken from it, Politika, a popular Serb daily insists:
“We are already in the third decade since the (attempted) robbery of 17 percent of Serbian territory by the US and its vassals. All this time they have been trying to legalise and legitimise their crime. But without the explicit or passive consent of the Serbian state, without the use of force, they will not succeed. As long as the UN exists, and as long as Security Council Resolution 1244 and the Serbian constitution exist, with the help of our staunch friends Russia and China, Kosovo and Metohija [the official name of the area in Serbia] will remain an integral part of Serbia 'for all eternity'.”