Serbia’s president called for the removal of new mayors in northern Kosovo, a step he said was needed to de-escalate tensions after the worst violence there in a decade.
(Bloomberg) — Serbia’s president called for the removal of new mayors in northern Kosovo, a step he said was needed to de-escalate tensions after the worst violence there in a decade.
The flareup started last week as the ethnic-Albanian mayors started to take up their posts in the region. They won their positions in an election that was boycotted by local Serbs, who make up the majority in the north of the country.
Tensions escalated on Monday when Serb protesters clashed with Kosovo police and NATO troops, leaving 30 peacekeepers and dozens of protesters injured.
“The move that might resolve the issue is the withdrawal of the alleged mayors,” President Aleksandar Vucic told reporters on the sidelines of a European summit in Moldova on Thursday. “This has to be the first move and then I believe we’ll have enough strength to carry on with our conversation with our talks to not only de-escalate the situation but also to take some steps forward.”
Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said Wednesday that he would not remove police from northern Kosovo and that the mayors had, in his view, a legal right to access their offices.
The view was shared by Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani on Thursday, who defended her institutions and police for acting to protect citizens. She accused Serbia of supporting alleged “criminal gangs” that aim to destabilize Kosovo and asked it to stop.
She also acknowledged that Kosovo needs to “better coordinate” to de-escalate the situation with its allies, including the US, which condemned the actions of the government in an unusually sharp rebuke.
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“I believe this partnership is existential for Kosovo’s success, which is why I’m engaged intensively in making sure that any current disagreement does not stand in the way of strengthening our partnership with the US,” Osmani said.
Both Osmani and Vucic said they’ll meet with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the summit to discuss ways to de-escalate.
The Balkan leaders avoided each other at the start of the meeting and evaded questions about whether they plan to meet face to face.
–With assistance from Katharina Rosskopf, Andrea Dudik, Ania Nussbaum and Arne Delfs.
(Update with comments from Kosovo’s President from sixth paragraph.)
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