Pristina wants ZSO to be formed "when Kosovo joins UN"

Deputy Prime Minister Enver Hoxhaj says the creation of the ZSO should be achieved alongside Kosovo's accession to the United Nations.

Hoxhaj told Radio Free Europe that Kosovo should not hurry to form the ZSO (Community of Serb Municipalities) - and that it should become functional when Kosovo gets a chair in the United Nations as a full member.

"As the Association (ZSO) aims to improve the position of the Serbs in Kosovo, I think that its de facto formation should take place in parallel with Kosovo's membership in the UN, when Kosovo gains legal status and full international recognition," Hoxhaj said.

According to him, it is not obligatory to include the issue of the ZSO in the package of the final agreement of the dialogue with Serbia, but this should instead be conducted as a parallel process.

"It should be part of the same process that expresses the expectations of the Serbs living in Kosovo, but also to meet the expectations of Kosovo as a whole and the Western partners of Kosovo as its allies," Hoxhaj said.

The government of Kosovo has announced that the final proposal of the Statute of the ZSO and the directive on its formation will be submitted to the Constitutional Court of Kosovo, which should assess its compliance