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The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, on Wednesday criticized the conditions for joining the Council of Europe, especially the creation of a semi-autonomous governmental structure for the Serbian community, reports AFP, taken over by Agerpres.

For several months, Kosovo has been approaching the accession to the Council of Europe, despite the vehement protests of Serbia. A final vote on membership is expected at the end of May. Pristina’s campaign to join the Strasbourg institution appears to be hitting a roadblock, however, with Albin Kurti saying his government is under pressure to create an association of ten Serb-majority municipalities.

“The government does not accept the association as a condition for admission to the Council of Europe,” he said in a speech before the government. Kurti, however, refused to name the states that, out of the 46 members of the Council, requested the formation of this structure to pave the way for Kosovo’s accession.

Kurti’s persistent refusal to create the association contravenes an agreement signed in 2013 by a previous government. According to that agreement, the association was to include 10 municipalities where Serbs are the majority and would benefit from autonomy in the fields of health, education, culture and other sectors.

Kurti’s statements intervene while the international attention is fixed on the Serbian president, Aleksandar Vucic, who on Wednesday received the Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who arrived on a state visit to Belgrade.

Xi Jinping and Aleksandar Vucic promised on Wednesday that they will support each other in international political issues, especially within the UN, as well as that they will deepen the ties between their countries. China and Russia played a crucial role, preventing the recognition of the secessionist province, which declared its independence in 2008, by the UN.