Serbian president signals possible referendum for EU-backed deal with Kosovo

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Serbia’s president on Sunday signaled a possible referendum for the Ohrid Agreement for the normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo.

Aleksandar Vucic's remarks came after several opposition parties requested that a referendum be held to ask citizens whether the European Union-facilitated agreement should be used as a facilitator of the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue.

Vucic said that if the opposition is asking for his legitimacy to be tested in a referendum, he is ready for it.

''Some of them want my legitimacy to be tested. They should agree on it. I am ready for anything. They want a referendum. Do I have support or not? Let’s have a referendum,'' he said.

The opposition has also requested that a session of parliament be held for a discussion on the issue of Kosovo.

''Do they want me in the parliament? Not a problem. As long as they don’t foment violence again. I am always ready for everything. We just need to find a time slot,'' said Vucic.

Serbia and Kosovo reached an agreement on Feb. 27 to sign a proposal to normalize ties after a meeting in Brussels.

The agreement came after 12 hours of talks between Vucic, Albanian Prime Minister Albin Kurti and EU officials.

The parties later agreed on how to implement the deal in the last round of talks on March 18 in North Macedonia.

The 11-point agreement demands that the sides maintain good neighborly relations and recognize each other’s documents such as passports and license plates.

Launched in 2011, the EU-led Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue aims to find a mutually agreeable solution for disputes in the framework of a legally binding agreement.

The EU requires Kosovo and Serbia to reach a final agreement and resolve disputes to progress in their integration into the bloc.

Most UN member states, including the US, UK, France, Germany and Türkiye, recognized Kosovo as a separate country after it declared independence from Serbia 15 years ago. Serbia, however, continues to regard it as its territory.