German Govt after Borrell’s statement on Kosovo border: We are in favour of an agreement which would serve stability in the region

Gazeta Express

07/05/2020 16:58

German Government headed by Chancellor Angela Merkel says that they support Kosovo-Serbia dialogue facilitated by the EU and are in favour of an agreement which would be of benefit for both Serbs and Albanians and contribute to stability in the region. The Government in Berlin made the comments when asked by Gazeta Express to comment statements of the EU High Representative Josep Borrell who has not ruled out the correction of border idea as a final solution to Kosovo-Serbia dialogue.

The German Government has continuously opposed the idea of redrawing border between Kosovo and Serbia since the initiative was presented to public by presidents Hashim Thaci of Kosovo and Aleksandar Vucic of Serbia at the Alpbach Forum in Austria in August 2018. The controversial idea of correction of borders or land swap which was considered as dangerous for the stability in the Western Balkans was considered dead during the Berlin Summit held in April 2020, however recent statements of the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, prove hat some political analysts are reiterating that the land swap idea “is not dead, but is roaming like a ghost.”

Borrell in a statement to media on 5 May 2020 said that is up to Kosovo and Serbia to decide whether they want to talk on correction of borders and the EU cannot dictate to parties on what they should or should not agree upon during the EU-facilitated dialogue. Borrell’s statement are in line with his predecessor Federica Mogherini when she asked whether she is against change of borders between Kosovo and Serbia.

The Federal Government of Germany in an answer to Gazeta Express said that Berlin continues to strongly support the normalization dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo facilitated by the EU. “The goal remains a legally binding agreement on the comprehensive normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, which would serve the populations in both countries and contribute to the stability in the region,” a spokesperson of the German Government told Gazeta Express.

All political leaders in Kosovo are against entering negotiations with Serbia on territories. The caretaker Government headed by Albin Kurti told Gazeta Express on Wednesday that very dialogue involving negotiations on partition of Kosovo is unacceptable. Also, the leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Isa Mustafa, said on Thursday that no one can correct borders of Kosovo.

All experts of the politics in the Western Balkans have repeatedly stated that redrawing borders would destabilise the region. /GazetaExpress/