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Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti
said the creation of the Community of Serb Municipalities in
Kosovo is possible, but only after an agreement is reached with
Belgrade on mutual recognition. "We have to be cautious and
honest," Kurti said in statements to Turkish TV Trt, which were
partly picked up by the Serbian press. The premier, who
confirmed what he has been advocating in recent days with the
announcement of six conditions for the formation of the
Community of Serbs, referred to recent statements by U.S. envoy
for the Western Balkans Gabriel Escobar that the Community of
Serbs should be created anyway since it is provided for in an
agreement reached by Belgrade and Pristina. Kurti said he
appreciates Escobar's interest and commitment to the success of
the Kosovo negotiation process, adding, however, that his
conditions on such a body are not something arbitrary or his
personal opinions but are based on the constitution and laws of
Kosovo. To a question whether Kosovo would remain isolated from
the Western world should an agreement not be reached, the
premier said he was certain that this would not happen. "Of
course we will not remain isolated. Last May we applied for
membership in the Council of Europe, and in December we applied
for membership in the EU," Kurti said. Belgrade rules out a yes
vote on Kosovo's independence, and any possibility of mutual
recognition with Pristina.
