Stano declines to specify whether February 27 Brussels meeting will be held

BRUSSELS - European Commission spokesperson Peter Stano on Friday declined to specify whether a Brussels meeting of the EU special envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue Miroslav Lajcak and representatives of the two parties would be held on February 27, but said the EU was hoping Belgrade and Pristina would solve an issue caused by a "very unfortunate decision" on one side.

Referring to Pristina's ban on the Serbian dinar in Kosovo-Metohija, Stano said the "very unfortunate and unconsulted decision" also affected the other side.

"We submitted invitation to partners to deal with certain issues, we explained it in depth already yesterday, so now we are hoping that both sides will be able to agree to it and solve the issue which was caused by a very unfortunate and unconsulted decision on one side, affecting also the other side, so this is our role as the facilitators," he said at a Brussels press briefing.

Asked by Tanjug if the meeting would go ahead after Pristina's chief negotiator Besnik Bislimi had declined Lajcak's invitation to Brussels, Stano said logistical discussions about setting up working-level meetings should not be conducted through the media, the public domain or at press conferences.

He noted that the EU did not comment on what it was doing, but just trying to help the parties find a solution.

When asked if there would be consequences if no Pristina officials turned up at the Brussels meeting, Stano said the EU did not speculate about "what-if" scenarios.