Serwer: "Trepca" and Ujman could be part of talks in Washington
RTKLive
2 minutes
Media report that agreement on the railway, airline, and highway connecting Kosovo and Serbia are topics that will start the meetings at the White House while the mutual recognition which has been continuously proclaimed by Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti although not on the agenda, it could be added to the discussion if the two parties agree.
Balkans analyst, Daniel Serwer, said that a special economic settlement around the border strip could be up for discussion and this, he said, includes "Trepca" and Ujman.
"However, it is difficult to see this being achieved as they implicate sovereignty issues," he added.
Serwer further said that Serbia is not ready to discuss Kosovo status therefore mutual recognition is unlikely to be tackled in the formal settings but could perhaps be raised during lunch or dinner meetings. "The only possibility is economic arrangement or agreement with Vucic to accept the exchange of ambassadors with Kosovo. However, Vucic has given signals he is not ready for this."
With regards to the idea of parties moving into territory talks, Serwer said this 'bad idea' always risks coming back but that "I would be very surprised if this idea reappears in Washington as Hoti has made it clear there will be no such discussions. What remains to be seen is if he will be ready to achieve an agreement on 'Trepca' or Ujman, or both, because Serbs want a part of 'Trepca' while Kosovo controls Ujman. There could be movement in this respect."
