EU foreign policy chief warns of 'dangerous situation' in Kosovo as tensions escalate
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has warned of “dangerous situation" in northern Kosovo as tensions with Serbs rise.
Borell made the remarks in a meeting with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Global security Conference in Bratislava, Slovakia.
After the meeting, Borrell called for “urgent de-escalation and a solution through Dialogue to return to our work to implement the Agreement reached.”
On his Twitter account, he called the current situation in the north of Kosovo “dangerous and unsustainable.”
Local Serbs in the towns of Zvecan, Leposavic and Zubin Potok have protested against the new Albanian mayors, elected on 23 April, amid a boycott by the Serbian population.
Tensions in the north of Kosovo further increased last Friday when the mayors of the three municipalities removed the Serbian flag and replaced it with a flag of Kosovo.
Borell in a separately published statement on Tuesday urged the leaders of Kosovo and Serbia to immediately de-escalate tensions after what he called “absolutely unacceptable” clashes in northern Kosovo in recent days.
“The EU expects the Parties to act responsibly and engage immediately in the EU-facilitated Dialogue to find a sustainable solution to the situation in the north of Kosovo that guarantees safety and security for all citizens and paves the way for the implementation of the new Agreement on Path to Normalization,” Borrell said in his statement.
Meanwhile, NATO’s peacekeeping force (KFOR) ramped up its presence after violent clashes in the area, which left 30 NATO soldiers and 52 Serb citizens injured on Monday.
The clashes erupted as ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo were trying to take over the offices of one of the municipalities where ethnic Albanian mayors took up their posts last week.
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