On Friday, July 10, an online summit of the leadership of the EU, Germany, France, Serbia and the partially recognized republic of Kosovo will be held. This was reported in the official statement of the Champs Elysees.

“On July 10, at the initiative of the President of France and the Chancellor of Germany, a high-level video conference will be held to resume the dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo, which was interrupted a year and a half ago, and enable the European Union to contribute to the resolution of disagreements between the parties,” the report says.

It is emphasized that this meeting of the parties in the online format will be a continuation of the negotiations held in Berlin on April 29, 2019.

“The conference ... will be the result of steps taken by France and Germany with respect to Serbia and Kosovo to strengthen the stability of the eastern Balkans and their ties with the European Union,” the statement said.

The date of the meeting was already confirmed by the Serbian side and the leadership of Kosovo.

Recall that the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina was supposed to take place in Washington on June 27, but it fell through after the Hague special prosecutor’s office accused Kosovo’s president Hashim Thaci of war crimes.

After that, the President of Serbia, Alexander Vučić, met in Brussels with the leadership of the EU, in particular, with the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. Following the talks, Vučić announced that it had discussed with the EU representatives the situation in Pristina on what could be expected and what conditions Kosovo might put forward. The head of Serbia also expressed confidence that the republic could become a member of the European Union by 2026. In addition, he emphasized that Belgrade is interested in accelerating EU integration.

The head of the EC, in turn, focused on the fact that Serbia’s accession to the EU depends on the solution of the Kosovo issue.

Thank you for the good discussion @predsednikrs. After the elections, a broad dialogue with all political forces is needed to move ahead with reforms needed to bring Serbia🇷🇸 closer to the EU. The dialogue with Kosovo is key. We will also support Serbia's post-pandemic recovery. pic.twitter.com/a1pYcb0b5a

- Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) June 26, 2020

“Now, after the elections, a broad dialogue is required with the participation of all political forces to advance the reforms necessary to bring Serbia closer to the European Union. Dialogue with Kosovo is key, ”wrote Ursula von der Leyen on her Twiter page.

It is worth noting that two days after the online meeting on July 10 on the Kosovo issue, separate negotiations between the President of Serbia and the Prime Minister of the rebellious region Avdulla Hoti should also take place in Brussels.

“Base ordering”

Meanwhile, on the eve of the talks between Belgrade and Pristina, with the mediation of Brussels, Berlin and Paris, mass protests began in a number of cities in Serbia, which grew into riots.

Activists demonstrate dissatisfaction with the actions of the authorities to counter the threat of the spread of coronavirus, as well as criticize the policies of President Vučić. During the rallies, both the demonstrators and the police suffered, a number of protesters were detained.

According to the deputy head of the Belgrade administration Goran Vesic, the damage from the protests in the capital of Serbia already amounts to more than 15 million dinars (about € 127 thousand).

  • Protests in Belgrade, July 7, 2020
  • Reuters
  • © Marko Djurica

At the same time, in an appeal to the nation on July 8, Alexander Vučić noted that right-wing radicals participated in the storming of the Serbian parliament building. In addition, he accused foreign intelligence agencies of involvement in the riots.

“The President noted the unsatisfactory work of a number of Serbian special services that did not manage to detect the interference of foreign intelligence in a timely manner and said that people from the countries of the former Yugoslavia known for their illegal activities participated in the riots and clashes with the Serbian police,” the press service of the President of Serbia reports.

At the same time, the Center for Euro-Atlantic Studies, located in Belgrade and financed including by the European Commission, the Soros Foundation, NATO and the US Embassy, ​​saw the “Russian trace” in Serbian protests.

“The main leaders of the fierce speeches that could have been witnessed by the public are public figures with an open pro-Russian position who use any means to invalidate Serbia’s attempts to compromise on the new status of Kosovo by concluding a comprehensive multidimensional agreement that would, with one on the other hand, it took into account the arguments of the Republic of Serbia, and on the other, it would allow it to remain on the European path, ”the Center said in a statement.

It is also indicated that "the interests of Moscow are met" by the goal - "to stop the process of stabilization and democratization of the Western Balkans and to prevent a compromise solution of outstanding issues that would consolidate the entire region, including Serbia, in the political West."

At the request of one of the journalists to comment on the press release of the Center for Euro-Atlantic Studies, Vučić replied that the Serbian side has information only about the role of the special services of a number of Balkan countries in mass protests.

“I have no doubt that those who worked on organizing the riots yesterday intended to weaken Serbia’s position. Now we already have evidence of the involvement in the riots of representatives of the special services (some Balkan countries. - RT ) of the region and everything else, which we can talk about later, when our special services conduct a detailed analysis. I can only talk about what I have evidence. You don’t think that the protests began by chance? ”, - quotes the words of Vucic German publication IntelliNews.

At the same time, the ambassador of Russia in Serbia, Alexander Botsan-Harchenko, rejected the accusations against Russia from the Center for Euro-Atlantic Studies. In his Twitter, he wrote that such statements are nothing more than primitive Russophobic cliches.

“Although the Center for Euro-Atlantic Studies makes absurd, unsubstantiated accusations against Russia, it’s not uncommon to see how“ perceived ”the reality is by the“ experts ”who have found the“ Russian trace ”in organizing unrest in Serbia,” RIA Novosti quotes him.

The head of the diplomatic mission of the Russian Federation also expressed regret that the replication of propaganda of the “Russian threat” and false information was “thoughtlessly picked up” by a number of Serbian media. 

In turn, the Russian Foreign Ministry called this kind of message a “base ordering” whose purpose is to “cast a shadow on the Russian-Serbian partnership.”

“Obviously, the authors of this stuffing are trying to keep up with the well-known“ conspiracy theological ”stereotypes of their sponsors, who seem to have the“ hand of Moscow ”everywhere,” the foreign ministry commented.

“They want to get a contract”

From the experts' point of view, external players may indeed be involved in the riots and mass protests in Serbia, but this has nothing to do with Russia. 

“The Center for European Studies has come forward with accusations against the Russian Federation in order to try to divert suspicion from its main interests. On the thief and the hat is on. Of course, at the first stage, the opposition fueled the dissatisfaction of society and the right, and then external players intercepted a radical wave of protests, and now they are trying to play an anti-Russian card to cover themselves, ”said MGIMO professor Elena Ponomareva in a conversation with RT.

  • Protests in Belgrade, July 8, 2020
  • AFP
  • © Andrej Isakovic

At the same time, these forces may have several goals that they pursue, deliberately bringing charges against Moscow, Ponomareva believes.

“The first is to cool Russian-Serbian relations. The second task is to send a signal to Vučić that if he does not agree to Brussels’s demands for Kosovo, he can expect the fate of the ex-president of Serbia Slobodan Milosevic, who was overthrown as a result of the “Bulldozer Revolution,” Ponomareva suggested.

In her opinion, the leadership of the European Union is now striving to "normalize relations between Belgrade and Pristina to such an extent as to formally recognize this self-proclaimed entity."

“This process has been going on since 2013 after the signing of the Brussels agreements, according to which Serbia gradually recognizes Kosovo documents, as well as the opening of borders. And the question of the future of Serbia on the path of European integration rests precisely on the Kosovo issue. Accordingly, the upcoming talks will discuss how Vučić is ready to make concessions, ”the analyst predicted.

At the same time, she expressed the hope that Vučić "had enough political will not to follow the lead of her Western colleagues."

“Russia has repeatedly stated that the Kosovo issue can be resolved not behind the scenes, not behind closed doors of European Commissioners and Western leaders, but on the basis of international law and within the framework of UN Security Council resolution 1244, which clearly makes it clear that Kosovo is Serbian territory. However, we are well aware that there are ways to put pressure on any political leader. And the fact that our Western colleagues are already using these methods of pressure is evident, ”the expert noted.

  • Serbian President Alexander Vučić / Kosovo leader Hashim Thaci
  • Reuters

In turn, an employee of the Institute for European Studies in Belgrade, Stevan Gayich, said that at this stage, “the European Union and the North Atlantic Alliance want to somehow achieve an agreement between Serbia and Kosovo, which would allow Belgrade to connect first to the EU, and then to NATO.”

“However, they are unlikely to succeed now, since the recognition of Kosovo will further fuel the protests that people will come out who do not want to surrender their land voluntarily. After all, legally, this territory belongs to Serbia, international law testifies to this, ”Gayic concluded.