Bn new mediation efforts by the European Union between Serbia and Kosovo, the representatives of both parties to the conflict rejected direct talks with each other on Thursday. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell met Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti in Brussels for separate consultations. Borrell then called for new elections in northern Kosovo with the participation of the Serb minority, “because this is the core of the problem”.
“After four hours of deliberations, I think that the two leaders have understood the seriousness of the situation,” Borrell said afterwards. It is “clear that they are in different situations, have different approaches, interpret the causes differently and also the effects, consequences or solutions,” said Borrell.
Vucic then said he saw “no reason at all” to speak to a man “who provokes conflict because of his fanatical ideology”.
The EU foreign policy representative made no secret of his disappointment and announced that he would hold consultations with the EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Monday. “We need new elections, as soon as possible,” he stressed. The question is when. “But we are not there yet.”
The latest tensions in northern Kosovo were triggered by a decision by the government in Pristina to appoint ethnic Albanian mayors in four Serb-majority municipalities. Serbian residents in the north of the country had previously boycotted the local elections there. After clashes at the end of May, the NATO-led peacekeeping mission (KFOR) strengthened its units in Kosovo.
Kosovo, with its predominantly ethnic Albanian population, declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, but is still considered a Serbian province by Belgrade today. The approximately 1.8 million inhabitants of Kosovo include around 120,000 Serbs, mainly in the north of the country.
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