Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti blames Serbia for the lack of progress in normalization talks but also points the finger at European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Miroslav Lajcak.

In an interview with the Brussels-based Politico, Kurti accused Serbia of failing to implement the agreement on the path to normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic of harbouring the former leader of the Belgrade-backed Serb List, Milan Radoicic, who accepted responsibility for the September 24, 2023, armed attack on the Kosovo police in Banjska, northern Kosovo.

Radoicic “is free and at large in Serbia, protected and financed by Serbia,” Politico quoted Kurti as saying.

The Kosovo Prime Minister accuses Belgrade of frequently violating agreements but said he believes that European Union (EU) officials also bear responsibility.

“The problem is that Mr. Borrell and Lajcak did not blow the whistle when there was a violation. Imagine a referee going around on a football pitch without the whistle,” Kurti added.

“The approach of Belgrade is not normalizing relations with Kosovo. How come they said yes to the [Ohrid] Agreement but refused to sign it?” Kurti told a Politico reporter a day after he participated in a working lunch organized by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen with Western Balkans leaders.

Despite sharing the same table in Brussels last week, the two Balkan leaders didn’t speak directly and have continued to trade barbs, said Politico.

Vucic told an interview with Politico on September 20 that he has “no relationship” with Kurti, and the Kosovo leader hit back: “When he speaks, I don’t intervene. Whenever I speak, he complains.”

Contacted by Politico for comment, the office of Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric sent an eight-page document that mainly accuses Pristina of failing to set up the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities.

“Kosovo is using [the] argument, ‘we firstly need signatures’ just to play the blame game with Belgrade. Yet Kosovo continues to ignore all of its Dialogue obligations,” the office said.

Things aren’t getting any better between Pristina and Belgrade, which won’t help either country on their paths to EU membership – just as the Commission is preparing to unveil a series of detailed reports on candidate countries’ prospects, concluded Politico.