At stake in the negotiations between Vučić and Kurti was the fate of Serbian municipalities in Kosovo

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Prime Minister of partially recognized Kosovo Albin Kurti are holding talks in Brussels on further normalization of relations. This was reported by the Associated Press on May 2. At the meeting, which was mediated by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, the leaders discussed critical issues for a political settlement. Among them are a declaration on missing people and the creation of a union of Serbian municipalities in the north of the partially recognized republic.

The organization of a network of municipalities in areas with a predominantly Serb population is a key issue for Belgrade in the negotiations. The corresponding agreement with Pristina was reached back in 2013, but it failed to be implemented, like many others. According to the plan, Serbian municipalities were to coordinate health care, education, land issues and economic development at the local level. “10 years ago we heard the same thing. Everyone expressed delight that it was a historically significant act. 10 years have passed and no Serbian municipalities have been created,” Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on May 2.

In turn, Kosovo impedes the implementation of this point: the constitutional court of the partially recognized state declared the Serbian municipalities unconstitutional. In January 2023, Kurti, who opposed Serbian self-government, advised Vučić to recognize Kosovo in order to ensure the rights of the Serbs living there. Nevertheless, over time, the Kosovo prime minister adjusted his position. Following March talks with Vučić, Kurti nevertheless pledged to create a community of Serbian municipalities.

Since the last talks in March, the situation has become more complicated, said Anastasia Maleshevich, a researcher at the Institute for International Studies at MGIMO. The authorities in Pristina not only made no fundamental progress on the issue of forming a community of Serbian municipalities, but also escalated. Elections were held in the northern municipalities with a Serbian majority. Despite the boycott by the Serbs and the turnout of 3.5%, such elections are recognized by Western countries, which contradicts the logic of the settlement.

Then, the expert explains, there was a vote for the admission of Kosovo to the Council of Europe, where, to the surprise of Belgrade, some countries that do not recognize Kosovo abstained, rather than voted against. In addition, just in April, Pristina was granted a visa-free regime with the EU – it will begin to operate from the beginning of 2024. All of the above gestures of Western countries are perceived in Serbia as encouraging the destructive line of Pristina and not conducive to finding a compromise.

Within a year or two, a stable process of negotiations is quite possible, Alexander Pivovarenko, a senior researcher at the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, is sure. The reason for this is the interest of both parties in the development of transport infrastructure projects promoted by Brussels. If these projects are put into practice, then the negotiation process can proceed without any special complications. As for the problem of Serbian municipalities, the expert continues, Pristina will in any case try to limit their powers to purely symbolic ones.

Despite the possible pressure on the Kosovo authorities from Brussels, which is interested in normalizing relations, even such a concession will be difficult for the nationalist-minded Pristina, and its implementation will, of course, complicate the negotiation process, Pivovarenko sums up.