New round of Belgrade-Pristina dialogue: ZSO and dinar ban in Kosovo and Metohija to be discussed in Brussels

Photo: Tanjug/ Tara Radovanovic

A meeting will be held in Brussels today as part of the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina at the level of chief negotiators, during which it is expected that the decision of the so-called Central Bank of Kosovo to ban the use of the Serbian dinar, as well as other issues within the dialogue, will be discussed.

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The delegation from Belgrade will be led by the director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, who announced that during the talks at the technical level, all issues important for de-escalating the situation will be discussed, including the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO), but also the ban on the use of the dinar in Kosovo and Metohija.

The Pristina delegation will be led by its chief negotiator, Besnik Bislimi.

As European Commission spokesman Peter Stano recently said, the EU's special envoy for dialogue Miroslav Lajcak invited the main negotiators to Brussels to continue the talks started a few weeks ago about the decision of the so-called Central Bank of Kosovo regarding the dinar.

He added that during the meeting other urgent issues will be discussed as part of the dialogue.

Stano said that the overall implementation of the so-called Ohrid agreement is one of the most urgent issues and that some of its aspects will be touched upon in the conversation.

At the end of February, a meeting was held in Brussels about the decision of the so-called Central Bank of Kosovo, which prohibits the use of the dinar, that came into force on February 1.

At that meeting, the Belgrade delegation was led by Petar Petkovic, while Pristina's chief negotiator Besnik Bislimi did not show up, so the Pristina side was represented only by a person from the so-called Central Bank of Kosovo.

Bislimi said that he refused to participate in the meeting because the dinar was not a topic for dialogue, after which Lajcak traveled to Pristina, and later visited Belgrade.

Last week, the US special envoy for the Western Balkans was in Kosovo and Metohija, who said that he hopes that the government in Pristina will be flexible, when it comes to the decree banning the use of the dinar in Kosovo and Metohija, during the talks as part of the dialogue that will be held today.

(Telegraf.rs/Tanjug)