Kosovo Opposition Party Criticises PM Kurti Over Serbs’ Vote

After Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti seemed to dismiss the possibility of Serbs voting in Kosovo for presidential and parliamentary elections in Serbia this Sunday, an opposition party said the move will prove harmful for the country.

Lutfi Haziri, a senior Democratic League of Kosovo LDK official in charge of Kosovo-Serbia issues, said Kurti's demand for a prior agreement between Kosovo and Serbia based on exchange of letters overturns Kosovo's long-time approach, based on international mediation in disputes between the countries.

"We have principles that negotiations [with Serbia] for 32 years, especially since the Vienna dialogue [on Kosovo's final status] which say that Kosovo does not negotiate directly with Serbia without the involvement of international mediators and without United States' guarantees.

"Principles are also that negotiations will be held neither in Kosovo nor Serbia but in a neutral country," Haziri said, referring to the 2006-2007 dialogue which led to Kosovo's declaration of independence in 2008, done in coordination with the US and most European Union countries, but which Serbia refuses to recognise.

"A direct communication with exchange of letters could breach these principles," he added.

In his view, the Kosovo government did not clearly reject the idea of Serbs voting within Kosovo.

"Even today, we don't have any decision from government or Prime Minister which says Serbian elections cannot be held [within Kosovo]. He [Kurti] has said that elections will not be held without any exchange of letters, which means an official request from Serbia to hold elections within Kosovo's territory," Haziri said.

Since Serbia's 2012 parliamentary elections, Kosovo Serbs have cast votes in Kosovo...