Kosovo must work towards deescalating the situation in north Kosovo EU’s envoy Miroslav Lajčak and his US counterpart Gabriel Escobar said in Belgrade Tuesday evening, while Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić called for Kosovo to meet its obligations, including by forming the Association of Serb Municipalities.
On Tuesday evening, Lajčak, Escobar met with Vučić, as well as EU Delegation chief Emanuel Giofre and US Ambassador Christopher Hill at Mir villa in Belgrade. Lajčak and Escobar arrived in Belgrade from Pristina, where they had discussed the situation in the north of Kosovo with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti.
Expressing concerns about the situation in the north of Kosovo, Lajčak noted the three demands he and Escobar presented in Pristina.
The three demands of the EU and US include: de-escalating the situation, holding new elections soon, and returning to dialogue.
Escobar, for his part, said that Kurti had two days to respond to EU and US demands. Kurti and President Vjosa Osmani have both said they favour holding new elections as long as the rule of law is upheld and Serb protests in the region stop.
Serbs have said they will only participate in the elections if Kosovo withdraws special police units from the north and it establishes the Association of Serb Municipalities, something Pristina says is unconstitutional and could be a precursor to a Serbian land grab or Republika Srpska situation.
Vučić wrote on Instagram that. “I said that it is time for Pristina to finally fulfil its obligations, and above all, the formation of the Association of Serb Municipalities in accordance with the Brussels Agreement,” Vučić also wrote on Instagram.
In the announcement, Vučić emphasised that Serbia has been a constructive, consistent, and reliable partner in all processes that led to preserving the region’s stability.
(Milena Antonijević/EURACTIV.rs)
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