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Weber: Paris Summit will be held, resumption of dialogue a step closer to final agreement - Gazeta Express 5-6 minutes _____ Bodo Weber, Senior Associate of the Democratization Policy Council concentrating on the Western Balkans, says the Paris Summit will be held on 1 July, after German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and French president Emmanuel Macron, have not gave up the initiative on a Kosovo-Serbia meeting in Paris. German political analyst made the comments during an interview with Gazeta Express, stating also that resumption of Pristina-Belgrade dialogue means a step toward a reset of the negotiations on a final comprehensive agreement. Weber said that there are no deadlines in the negotiation process adding that timing is of secondary importance, however he says that in case of the reset of negotiations, the process does not have to last longer than two years. Gazeta Express: On 6 June, Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj met in Berlin German chancellor Angela Merkel. Haradinaj stated that Merkel did not request abolishing the tax on Serbian goods, adding that visa issue it sill complicated even though the Germany supports this process in principle. On the other hand, Merkel's Cabinet did not give any press release about this meeting. Is there any reason for this, do you think that something at Berlin went wrong? Weber: No, I don't see that anything went wrong at the Berlin meeting. This was a working meeting, part of a series of meetings of French and German officials ahead of the Paris summit, thus the fact that the Chancellor's office did not issue and public statement should not raise any suspicion. The meetings are part of an exploratory process to define the framework for the Paris meeting, which in the end means a step toward a reset of the negotiations on a final comprehensive agreement, defining of a meaningful negotiating framework. After two years in which the dialogue with the Troika's (Mogherini-Thaci-Vucic) push of an ethno-territorial land swap "solution" has moved in an absolutely wrong direction, this is no easy, quick endeavor, first and foremost because the two leaders from Belgrade and Pristina have been vested into this false process. Gazeta Express: Do you think that Berlin and Paris have given up on this meeting that scheduled on early July, or do you think that they will continue efforts to bring together Pristina and Belgrade on dialogue, and reach an agreement? Weber: Merkel and Macron definitely have not given up on the Paris meeting. There is talk going on about a postponement to the end of the summer, but from what I recently hear looks more likely Berlin and Paris will stick to the originally set July date. While it is not unimportant, to have the new EU institution heads in Brussels in office, the German-French initiative will not, and should not wait until the new European Commission has started to work. Me and my organization, DPC, have concluded based on over a decade of experience with EU institutions in the Enlargement policy, that if the EU leaves a policy initiative to the Brussels institutions, we will get into trouble. Federica Mogherini and her team's hijacking of the dialogue negotiations over the last two years from the rest of the EU, including member states governments has probably been the most extreme example of that rule. It is thus of utmost importance that two of the most influential member states have taken an initiative to bring the negotiation process back under control and on track towards serious negotiations on a truly comprehensive agreement on full normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia. This is a process that cannot and should not wait until the Commission president and the new High Representative take office. Gazeta Express: Is there a deadline when the agreement will be reached? Weber: No, there is not, and there should not be a deadline - resumption of dialogue process needs to assure that a final agreement is really final, and really comprehensive, one that builds the basis for peaceful coexistence of Kosovo and Serbia for decades to come. Timing is thus of secondary importance. Though I am convinced that if negotiations are brought under into meaningful framework, such a process does not have to last longer than one to two years. Gazeta Express: Do you think that the US, Germany and other representatives of Quint will discuss and coordinate together for the Kosovo issue, or how will things go? Weber: I believe that the US will, might already be on its way toward returning into a supportive role vis-a-vis the EU to find a lasting agreement. Gazeta Express: Will the Russians include in the process of reaching a Kosovo-Serbia agreement? Weber: Sure not, Russia is not interested in any constructive processes that are led by the West and bring especially Serbia closer to Euro-Atlantic integration. /GazetaExpress/ -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "SERBIAN NEWS NETWORK" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/senet. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/senet/011701d521f8%24321b3eb0%249651bc10%24%40gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
