Kosovo Nationalists Demand End to Serbia Talks

Vetevendosje leader Albin Kurti said he would back the opposition coalition that wants to form a government instead of outgoing premier Hashim Thaci’s Democratic Party of Kosovo, which won most votes at the recent elections, but only under certain conditions.

“This is because bad governance should not continue,” Vetevendosje Movement spokesperson Erzen Vraniqi told BIRN.

Vetevendosje insists that the current Brussels-backed dialogue on normalizing relations with Serbia should stop, while dialogue with local Kosovo Serbs should be developed.

It also wants a parliamentary commission to look into the dialogue held with Serbia over the past three years, according to Kosovo newspaper Zeri.

The opposition coalition needs the votes of Vetevendosje’s MPs in order to form the next government.

But political expert Besa Luzha said the demands were nothing new and that “the dialogue has always been questioned by Vetevendosje”.

Vetevendosje has also asked for the April 2013 agreement on normalizing relations between Pristina and Belgrade to be analysed by the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission because it is “racist and violates human rights”.

But Dren Doli from the Institute for Political and Legal Studies said he didn’t believe an advisory opinion of the Venice Commission would improve the situation.

“Not implementing the agreement might have some implications on Kosovo’s image in international relations,” Doli said.

The opposition coalition seeking to form the next government includes Ramush Haradinaj’s Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, Isa Musta’s Democratic League of Kosovo and Fatmir Limaj’s Nisma for Kosovo (Initiative for Kosovo).

The dispute over who has the...