2023-05-31 15:23:01
Time.news – Tensions remain high today in northern Kosovo with hundreds of ethnic Serbs who have gathered gathered again in front of the town hall after the clashes with the peace forces led by NATO (KFOR) Monday. KFOR soldiers formed a ring around the municipal building in Zvecan and also secured the perimeter with a metal fence and barbed wire.
Kosovo’s ethnic Serb minority boycotted local elections in the north of the country in April, allowing ethnic Albanians to take control of local councils despite a low turnout of less than 3.5%. Many Serbs are calling for the withdrawal of Kosovo’s special police forces and ethnic Albanian mayors they do not consider their true representatives.
Protesters displayed a huge Serbian flag that stretched over 200 meters from the town hall to the center of Zvecan. Three vehicles of the Kosovo Special Police of ethnic Albanians – whose presence sparks controversy in the Serb-majority northern areas – remained parked outside the building.
Wounded Italians “are fine”
“I wanted to reassure that the boys are fine. Three were the wounded who initially gave cause for concern and were hospitalized in Pristina. There are two fractures in the tibia and one in the wrist treated in an appropriate manner by the health facility”. Said the Chief of Defense Staff, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, in a hearing before the joint Foreign Affairs and Defense commissions of the Senate and Defense of the Chamber, speaking of the clashes.
Borrell’s alarm
In reassuring the conditions of the 14 Italian soldiers wounded yesterday, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani expressed his great concern, warning, like the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell, of the risk of an escalation: “we cannot afford another war” , said the high representative for EU foreign policy, while Nato has decided to increase the contingent of the mission in Kosovola Kfor.
“We are very concerned about what is happening in this part of the Balkans where, unfortunately, tension is rising. I spoke to both Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovar prime minister Albin Kurti, urging both for calm,” Tajani said.
Then, he added, there was “a meeting of Italy, Germany, France, Great Britain and the United States, which are the countries working for the stability of the region: we all insist with Vucic that peace can be reached” .
I had a videoconference with Gen. Figliuolo and Amb. in Kosovo De Riu: full solidarity with wounded soldiers. They are followed closely and improve. @NATO_KFOR remains deployed and operational: our goal is to report #Serbia e #Kosovo to a constructive and peaceful dialogue
— Antonio Tajani (@Antonio_Tajani) May 30, 2023
In particular, according to Tajani “perhaps it is necessary to ensure that even the inauguration of mayors of Albanian ethnicity in northern Kosovo can be postponed to try to calm the waters”. The wounding of the soldiers of the NATO forces in Kosovo (in addition to the 14 Italian Alpini troops also about twenty Hungarians) has meanwhile led the Alliance to decide to deploy a contingent of the Operational Reserve Forces for the Western Balkans.
Furthermore, “an additional battalion of reserve forces has been ordered to reduce its deployment preparation time from fourteen to seven days, to be ready to reinforce NATO forces in Kosovo, if necessary”, established the command of the Force. joint ally of Naples, which explained the decision as “a prudent measure to ensure that the Kosovo Force has the capabilities it needs to maintain security in accordance with our United Nations Security Council mandate”, said Admiral Stuart Munsch.
“There has been too much violence, we cannot afford another conflict” – Josep Borrell
“The EU expects Kosovo and Serbia to act responsibly – explained Borrell – and engage in the dialogue facilitated by the Union to find sustainable solutions to the situation in the north of the country, to ensure the safety of all citizens and prepare the way for the implementation of the new standardization agreement. We already have a lot of violence today in Europe. We cannot afford another conflict. I hope my voice is heard and people act on our demands.”
Borrell also heard the leaders of Kosovo and Serbia, asking both “to urgently adopt measures to reduce tensions immediately and unconditionally. Any further unilateral action must be avoided and calm must be restored”.
In particular, and as a first step, the head of European diplomacy has asked “that the Kosovar authorities suspend the police operations concentrated on the municipal buildings in the north of Kosovo and that the violent demonstrators stop”.
The position of Russia and China
According to Russia, historically an ally of Serbia, the NATO contingent is a factor pushing the escalation in the Balkans; but Beijing has also expressed its solidarity with Belgrade, urging NATO to “respect the territorial sovereignty and integrity of the countries interested in doing things that favor regional peace”.
Russia supports Serbs in situation with Kosovo, believes that all legitimate rights and interests of Kosovo Serbs must be respected and guaranteed, said Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov quoted by Ria Novosti.
“We are keeping an eye on it. We absolutely, unconditionally support Serbia, we support the Serbs. We believe that all legitimate rights and interests of the Kosovo Serbs must be respected, that they must be guaranteed, that there must be no room for provocative actions that violate the rights of Serbs and, of course, we are following the situation very closely. We are concerned about it,” Peskov told reporters.
And Macron points the finger at Pristina
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has accused the Kosovar authorities of being responsible for the escalation of tensions in the north of the country during which 30 KFOR soldiers were injured.
“Very clearly, there is a responsibility of the Kosovar authorities in the current situation and a failure to comply with an agreement, however important and which was signed only a few weeks ago”, said the head of the Elysée from Bratislava, Slovakia.
The European Union must rethink its governance and “invent different formats” to meet the membership aspirations of Eastern European and Balkan countries, Emmanuel Macron continued in a speech delivered in Bratislava.
“It is the only way to respond to the legitimate expectation of the Western Balkans, Moldova and Ukraine, which must join the European Union and maintain geopolitical efficiency”, Macron declared, on the eve of the Political Community summit European Chisinau.
Met Prime Minister @albinkurti in Bratislava to discuss the tensions in the north of #Kosovo.
The current situation is dangerous and unsustainable.
We need urgent de-escalation and a solution through the Dialogue to return to our work on implementing the Agreement reached. pic.twitter.com/cOhKtEothA
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) May 31, 2023
In Bratislava Borrell met the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, to discuss tensions in the north of the country. “The current situation is dangerous and unsustainable. We need an urgent de-escalation and a solution through dialogue to get back to our work on implementing the agreement reached,” Borrell explained in a tweet.
#day #tensions #Kosovo