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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

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Statute first step towards formation of Community of Serb Municipalities

Belgrade/Brussels, 16 November 2023

Director of the Serbian government’s Office for Kosovo and Metohija Petar Petkovic led today a delegation of Belgrade in a new round of dialogue with Pristina, mediated by the European Union.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Miroslav Lajcak, Petkovic explained that the text of the statute of the Community of Serb Municipalities was discussed, as the first concrete step towards the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities, for which the Serbian people have been waiting for more than 10 years.

The Belgrade delegation included 18 experts who were best prepared for discussions on all the planned topics, the statute of the Community of Serb Municipalities, energy and the missing persons, he stated and assessed that they are proof that Belgrade approaches the dialogue in a responsible manner.

According to him, they spoke clearly about all aspects of the draft statute of the Community of Serb Municipalities, especially the part that refers to executive powers, primarily spatial planning, health, education and economic development.

The talks were held with Miroslav Lajcak's team, but also with EU experts on these topics, Petkovic said, adding that he expects the talks to continue in the coming period.

The statute is very important because it represents the backbone of the Community of Serb Municipalities and everything must be in accordance with the agreements signed in 2013 and 2015. After more than five hours of talks that we had in Brussels, we return convinced that, through dialogue and compromise solutions, we can make progress in the normalisation of relations between Belgrade and Pristina, he said.

The Director of the Office emphasised that Belgrade is absolutely committed to peace and stability and that it is therefore important for us to find solutions through negotiations that will enable a better life for the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija.

During today's talks, we highlighted the seriousness of the situation which our people north and south of the Ibar are facing, but also the escalating behaviour of Albin Kurti, which above all calls into question the survival, basic human rights and the right to life of citizens in the province, Petkovic stated.

He said that at the meeting he also highlighted the importance of holding Serbian elections in Kosovo and Metohija, scheduled for 17 December, and that the situation which we have in the north of the province, where illegal Albanian mayors lead four Serbian municipalities, is unsustainable.