US Recommends Ways to Ease Kosovo-Serbia Lake Dispute

The US has issued a report on how to best manage an important reservoir disputed between Kosovo and Serbia, in line with the commitments it made when the two countries signed the so-called Washington deal in 2020.

Ujman/ Gazivode lake. Photo: BIRN/ Denis Sllovinja

The US Department of Energy has finalized a feasibility report on the management of the disputed Ujman/ Gazivode lake in accordance with the 2020 Washington deal signed by former US President Donald Trump, separately, with Kosovo and Serbia, as part of the two countries’ dialogue.

The US embassy in Pristina announced on Wednesday that it had delivered the report to the government of Kosovo, “fulfilling one of the September 4 (2020) Washington commitments”. The government of Serbia has also received the report, according to the embassy in Pristina.

The strategically important reservoir was created in the 1970s in the mainly Serb-populated north of Kosovo. It is claimed by both Serbia and its former province, which declared independence in 2008.

The report provided four recommendations to improve the security of the water supply system. First, infrastructure should be updated in accordance with World Bank recommendations.

Second, the Supervisory control and data acquisition, SCADA, an internationally recognised centralized system of processing and controlling real-life data, should be introduced in collecting data from the Ujman/ Gazivode hydro-power plant. The report said this will help Kosovo’s public electricity Transmission, System and Market Operator, KOSTT, to manage electricity prices as well as supply. In addition, SCADA will clarify the necessary investments in infrastructure.

Third, the report suggests implementation of commission and evaluation of the Iber river, which flows into the lake. The commission would be useful in the EU-led Kosovo-Serbia dialogue by bringing forward different management opportunities, including shareholding opportunities.

The report notes the example of the Grand Coulee dam in the Columbia river, regulated via a treaty between the US and Canada. The fourth recommendation is to improve the predictions of water supply.

Kosovo and Serbia on September 4, 2020 separately signed an agreement on economic, energy and political issues with the US at a ceremony presided over by Mr Trump in Washington.

One of the agreed points was to work with the US on “a feasibility study for the purpose of sharing [the disputed] Gazivode/Ujmani Lake, as a reliable water and energy supply”.

However, the Kosovo government, then led by Avdullah Hoti from the now opposition party Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, was criticized for including the lake in the Washington deal.

At a parliamentary session on Thursday, opposition MPs sought clarification from the government on the likely implementation of the deal.

Abelard Tahiri, head of the parliamentary group of the opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, said the government needed to clarify whether the agreement would be implemented due to its former rejection by current ruling party, Vetevendosje. “We have no obligations to the commitments of the illegitimate Prime Minister of Kosovo when we return to office,” current PM Albin Kurti had tweeted at the time the agreement was signed.

Hoti meanwhile requested an apology from Kurti, claiming the report proves that Kosovo’s sovereignty was not in danger of being violated. “I told you, even then, do not rush, because time brings everything to light,” he told MPs.