Discussions at U.S. State Department successful, warnings to Kurti sincere
"The United States sincerely supports the stance that the Community of Serb Municipalities (CSM) is something that was previously agreed, rather than a topic of discussions, and that it must be formed to enable further dialogue and then start implementing an agreement", Dacic told Tanjug in Washington.
He noted that he had had a series of very important meetings at the State Department.
Advisor to the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Derek Chollet, and Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, had made it clear that they supported Serbia's principled position, which, as Dacic added, was also clearly confirmed by Blinken in a conversation with the Serbian President.
"It is particularly significant that Chollet and Escobar assured us that the U.S. sincerely supports the position that the CSM is something that was previously agreed, rather than a topic of discussions, and that they support the position that the CSM must be formed to enable further dialogue and then start implementing an agreement", Dacic said and emphasized that it was important that Serbia's red lines were outlined clearly and that it was clearly said that we cannot let the Brussels Agreement, signed 10 years ago, be annulled.
The Minister said that the U.S. State Department officials had told him the U.S. would act in a transparent manner and inform Serbia of everything, and that they were serious about their warnings to Albin Kurti that there can be no discussion about the Community of Serb Municipalities.
"We received clear assurances that the U.S. considers that the CSM is the first thing that should be done, now, not later, and that they highly value the constructive position of Serbia, and that they would like this to benefit our entire region", the Мinister said.
It is important for Serbia, as Dacic emphasized, that the U.S. was seriously discussing with its partners the way in which Kurti should be made aware of what must be done to form the CSM.
"We are satisfied with that stance, we do not know how this will end, but Serbia will definitely be constructive," Dacic said, adding that the United States supported continued strategic and bilateral relations between Washington and Belgrade.
The Minister said that he had also spoken with U.S. Senator Ron Johnson and Congresswoman Claudia Tenney, who co-chairs the Serbian Caucus and who proposed a visit to Serbia by a U.S. Congress delegation led by her.
He recalled that the 142nd anniversary of the establishment of relations between the then Serbia and the United States is marked these days, and that this was a document that was still in force today, which spoke of the continuity of our relations.
Source/Photo: Tanjug
