A DEBRIEF WITH TATJANA LAZAREVIC - In the wake of vigorous shuttle diplomacy meant to jumpstart the adoption of an EU-designed proposal to normalize relations between Serbia and Kosovo, the United States is pushing Prishtina to fulfill its prior commitment to create the Association of ethnic Serb-Majority Municipalities (ASM). In this episode of #BalkansDebrief, nonresident Senior Fellow Ilva Tare is joined by Tatjana Lazarevic, the Editor-in-Chief of the KoSSev news portal and a resident of the Kosovo Serb-majority city of Mitrovica in the north of Kosovo.

Lazarevic addresses the challenges faced by the Kosovo Serb community in the northern part of Kosovo, explaining why more families and young intellectuals are moving to cities across the border in Serbia. In this episode, Tare poses key questions on the debate surrounding inter-communal relations and local government autonomy in Kosovo. Do Kosovo Serbs want the ASM? What is the role of Belgrade and Prishtina in the daily lives of Kosovo Serbs? Will the creation of the ASM result in an entity in Kosovo akin to a Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina?

AIRED: 2/21/23