Second meeting between Vucic and Lajcak: "ZSO must be formed, without it there's no agreement"

Photo: Tanjug/ Tara Radovanovic

The EU's special envoy for dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, said on Tuesday in Belgrade that at a meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, he heard his comments on the implementation of the European proposal for normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina.

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This was the second meeting between Vucic and Lajcak. The day before, Lajcak also met with the president of Serbia, and later at the headquarters of the EU Delegation in Belgrade with representatives of pro-EU opposition, in order to present them the European proposal for the Kosovo issue.

"Having received feedback from both parties we will now finalize our preparations ahead of the meeting in Ohrid on Saturday," Lajcak wrote on Twitter.

Earlier in the day, he said that the Community of Serb Municipalities in Kosovo and Metohija must be formed and that there can be no agreement without that, reports Tanjug.

The EU special envoy visited Pristina, after which he came to Belgrade, where he met with President Vucic.

In an interview for RTS, he pointed out that everything that was previously agreed upon must be fulfilled, and that the ZSO must be created according to the model that was agreed upon in 2013 and 2015.

"Everything that was agreed must be fulfilled, it has not been fulfilled for ten years, this time it will, because we will not have an agreement without the ZSO and without a guarantee that it will be established this time," said Lajcak.

Finished my second meeting with @predsednikrs @avucic to hear his comments on the Implementation Annex and the way forward on the EU Agreement. Having received feedback from both Parties, we will now finalize our preparations ahead of the meeting in Ohrid on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/HMIfZbNdRs— Miroslav Lajčák (@MiroslavLajcak) March 14, 2023

Asked whether it is envisaged that the ZSO will have executive powers and what it means when it is said that they do not want "a second Serb Republic" in Kosovo, Lajcak said that the ZSO does not yet exist, and what it will be like should be agreed between Belgrade and Pristina within dialogue, but based on what was agreed in 2013 and 2015.

"A number of details need to be agreed on, a statute needs to be proposed and both sides need to agree on that statute," said Lajcak.

When asked what models will be used to make Pristina agree to the formation of the ZSO, Lajcak said that in February the European Council passed its conclusions that have three articles and that one of them talks about the fact that the ZSO must be established.

"The US is saying clearly and explicitly that the ZSO must be established. In our agreement, article seven also talks about it. So, the ZSO must be established and it will be established," he stated.

(Telegraf.rs)