On Wednesday at the State Department, Ned Price revealed Secretary Blinken’s stance on the Franco-German plan for the Kosovo dispute. Asked by The Pavlovic Today why there’s no mention of the US in the plan’s title and whether that means that the US gave up on its active role in the Kosovo dispute, Ned Price conveyed a reassurance that that’s not the case and expressed a “strong support” for the EU-led Serbia-Kosovo Talks.
“I think you have seen that represented over the course of this administration,” Price told The Pavlovic Today. “Just recently, our Deputy Assistant Secretary Gabe Escobar, together with senior representatives from the EU— from Germany, France and Italy— conducted a joint mission to Pristina and Belgrade to discuss the proposal for the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia,” Price referred to the latest round of Serbia-Kosovo Talks.
Price then went on to detail the outcome of the talks from the US perspective. “The leaders underlined the opportunities of the proposals,” according to Price, as well as the “urgency of swift progress to avoid the risk of further escalation.”
Asked by The Pavlovic Today what expectations Secretary Blinken has from the Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic regarding rejecting or accepting this proposal, Price outlined the overall US stance that includes Kosovo’s PM, Albin Kurti.
Price said the US and the EU expect parties to “live up to their responsibilities.”
Specifically, Price said that “both Kosovo and Serbia in this case should implement the agreements they’ve already signed onto through this very dialogue process.” That, Price was adamant, includes making the “progress” in “establishing the association of Serb majority municipalities.” Price said that the US “strongly” encourages Kosovo’s Serbs to return to Kosovo institutions “as quickly as possible to improve security and stability” in the region.
“These are messages that Kosovo and Serbia are hearing from the United States, ” said Price. “So we are very much supportive of this process,” he added.
Speaking at length about the US approach to the Kosovo dispute, Price said that America is acting consistently and is still very much involved in this issue.
“Our approach to conflicts, tensions around the world often consists of this. We’re supporting, in some cases local, in some cases, regional solutions. The United States lends our support, when and how we deemed to be most effective,” said Price.
According to the State Department spokesperson, the EU-led dialogue “has the potential to be an effective vehicle to reduce tensions and resolve conflicts between Kosovo and Serbia.”
