“There’s a reason why there’s demand for the Association of Municipalities. And there’s a real belief that that the Association can, at the same time, provide important services to the people of those municipalities while not undermining the sovereignty of the government in Pristina,” a US senator Chris Murphy said in a statement for KoSSev.
“So, I think there are legitimate issues that Serbs living in Kosovo present. But the good news is we have a solution. Right? There are some problems where you’re still searching for a solution. We have a solution here that is not unfamiliar to us in the United States. We have a devolved government, we have a strong federal government, and then we have states and municipalities with powers. So to me, this is an elegant solution to a difficult problem,” he said in response to our portal’s question.
US Senators, Democrat Chris Murphy for Foreign Affairs, and Gary Peters, from the Armed Forces Committee, are currently on tour of Kosovo. They met with the top Kosovo officials, as well as representatives of civil society, including those from the Kosovo Serb community. In a short interview for several newsrooms from Kosovo, they confirmed that they had very good discussions with the officials in Pristina about the dialogue with Serbia.
They expressed hope and belief that the Ohrid agreement will be implemented this year. However, they could not predict whether this would happen. One of them revealed that he is concerned that the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities would be discussed for another year or two, without the implementation of Article 7 of the Agreement on the Path to Normalization of Relations between Kosovo and Serbia.
“I think there is a worry in the United States that there’s been a lot of talk without action since the Brussels agreement. And I worry about the impact of going another few years without seeing real tangible steps towards implementation of the agreement,” Senator Murphy said in response to a question posed by KoSSev’s Editor-in-Chief.
On the other hand, Murphy added that there is complete consensus within Europe right now, pointing out that every single member state supports the implementation of this agreement. However, we went on to say that he cannot predict whether it will actually be implemented in the end.
“We shouldn’t take for granted that Europe will remain as united as it is on this question. So why not take advantage of this moment? I can’t make a prediction. I just think that we should stay on track.”
In their words, time is “not on anyone’s side.”
“I think we’ve got to move fast to get on track to implement the agreement. I know there’s a political risk both in Serbia and Kosovo to make good on the promises that are the foundation of that agreement. But it’s really important that we get Kosovo on a path to you and to NATO, and that can only happen by settling these differences with Serbia and settling them quickly.”
He stated that one of the consequences in the event of non-implementation of the agreement, if Kosovo’s leaders do not make the difficult political choices necessary to first achieve normalization and then mutual recognition, include exclusion from Euro-Atlantic integration.
“Kosovo’s pathway to NATO, into the European Union, runs through an agreement with Serbia. That’s a hard fact. And the consequences of a failure to implement this agreement are connected to all of the cost associated with not integrating with Europe or not integrating with NATO,” Murphy said.
“Clearly, we spent a lot of money in Kosovo. We’re really proud of the role we play in defending this country, and we want to be there to support its integration. Clearly, the United States thinks the Association of Serb Municipalities is something that can get done and should get done. And we are going to continue to press that case because we see it as a commitment that Kosovo has made and we see it as absolutely essential to Kosovo, ultimately joining with all of the international institutions that Kosovo deserves to be a part of.”
Unanimity of NATO members is required for Kosovo to join this organization, however, that is currently lacking, the senators noted. According to them, it can still be achieved:
“If we settle the differences that exist today between Kosovo and Serbia. And those differences can be settled. So I can’t put a date on it, but I think it is possible, it is foreseeable, but it is dependent on this agreement being done and implemented.”
They announced that they will be visiting Belgrade in a few days, carrying the same message: that the agreement must be implemented. Also, they will try to find out from both sides what the obstacles to the implementation are.
We’ll be in Belgrade in a few days to make it clear to Serbia that they need to live up to their side of the agreement as well
“We know it’s difficult for Serbia to end their blockade of Kosovo joining international institutions. We just think this is the time to begin those implementation steps,” Murphy added.
According to Gary Peters, who boasted of a good relationship with Albanian immigrants in Connecticut, in order for the Ohrid agreement to be implemented, both sides “have to act together.”
“You know, you can’t have one side out there and then the other side doesn’t. Then you start breaking down whatever trust you’re starting to build. Trust is a really hard thing to build, and there’s a lot of reasons why it’s not here now, and it’s going to be really hard. But both sides need to act together to show good faith from both sides. If only one side is showing good faith – it’s really hard to get to step number two, you only have step number one. So that’s got to be key. And that should be the demand of the negotiations. Both take steps simultaneously together.”
Finally, the senators underlined that “no country in the world is as invested in the success and sovereignty of Kosovo as the United States.”
“The United States is never going to agree to any concessions or steps taken by Kosovo that would jeopardize this country’s future safety and security. And I hope there’s confidence here that the United States is going to stand by Kosovo. And that includes discussions around the Association of Serb Municipalities,” they underscored.
Furthermore, they expressed deep appreciation for this partnership, alleging that there is no stronger alliance than the one between the United States and Kosovo.
“Every time we need help, Kosovo stands up and says, yes, and that’s really, really important.”
Peters underlined that a Kosovo-born successful businessman in the US told him that Kosovo is „an easy place to do business and start a business“.
“But the challenge for him to get more investment from outside investors to help grow his business is that outside investors look at what’s going on with Serbia and Kosovo and the uncertainties there and businesses don’t like uncertainty. They don’t like that at all. And so if you don’t kind of come to some sort of agreement and pull this together and then see some normalization of that, you’re not going to get foreign investment. (…)But there’s a tremendous opportunity for foreign investment to come here, but not if we don’t have an agreement that assures investors that this is a good place to invest.”
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