Brnabic: I expect nothing from Brussels meeting, Kurti violating agreement

MOSTAR - Serbian PM Ana Brnabic said she had no expectations from Tuesday's meeting between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Pristina's PM Albin Kurti in Brussels.

Speaking to reporters in Mostar, Brnabic said she not only saw no intent in Pristina to implement agreements reached ten years ago, but believed that Pristina was purposely violating the Brussels Agreement.

"I do not see how that will change after more than ten years since the signing of the Brussels Agreement as the first agreement on normalisation guaranteed by the EU with its signature. I see no readiness in Pristina - they have already been rewarded, and generously so, for having failed to implement the Brussels Agreement," Brnabic said.

She added that Pristina had directly violated the deal also by banning Kosovo-Metohija Serbs from voting in a referendum and in elections called by Belgrade.

"The EU and the Quint practically made no attempt to avert that - honestly, one press release is not a serious attempt of averting that - so Albin Kurti repeated that. He also did that by dismissing the police chief of the North region," Brnabic said.

Kurti has not only not implemented the Brussels Agreement - he is also violating it, Brnabic noted.

"Including also through the quasi-elections held in the north of Kosovo-Metohija and, again, I heard nothing from the EU. What's more, what was heard were practically voices of approval for violating the Brussels Agreement, so I have no expectations today. We are trying to continue to be tolerant, to preserve peace and some level of stability, despite Pristina's efforts to cause destabiisation," Brnabic added.

She also said she was surprised by Bosnia and Herzegovina's abstention in a recent vote on the so-called Kosovo's admission to the Council of Europe (CoE).

"I know the positions within the BiH differ, but there is only one official position - that the BiH is one of the non-recognisers of the so-called Republic of Kosovo, which we appreciate and consider to be completely normal and logical since the BiH is a country fighting for, and advocating, inviolability of the territorial integrity of internationally recognised UN member states," Brnabic said.

She said the abstention was unclear to her because it meant abstaining on the issue of the territorial integrity of an internationally recognised state.

"From my point of view, I do not think it is in the interest of the BiH. It is unclear to me, but that is an internal issue of the BiH, so I will let that be resolved within the BiH. But the BiH position is completely clear - the BiH is a non-recogniser and, in that regard, as head of the Government of Serbia, I expected a clear vote against by the BiH in the CoE, because it cannot abstain on the issue of CoE membership for a non-existent state," Brnabic concluded.