After the Albanians in Kosovo held extraordinary local elections in four municipalities with a majority Serb population that were boycotted by the Serbs, based on some 3,4 percent of the votes, the newly elected Albanian mayors tried to enter the municipal buildings with the help of the Kosovo police and KFOR, and the Serbs gathered together determined to prevent them from doing so, so there was a conflict with dozens of injured Serbian demonstrators and NATO soldiers, international envoys Miroslav Lajčak, on behalf of the European of the Union, and Gabriel Escobar, on behalf of the United States of America, again went on a peacekeeping mission.
First, on Monday, they stopped in Pristina for a new round of talks with the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, to whom they had previously suggested holding local elections in Serbian areas without Serbs, but he did not listen to them. Now there were words, broadcast by RTS, about the de-escalation of the situation, new elections in the north and the continuation of the dialogue with the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić.
EU Special Envoy Lajčak said that they had a "long, open and difficult" conversation with Kurti, which in diplomatic language means that they did not agree on much and that they probably threatened him with some sanctions if he did not listen to their European and American demands. , wishes.
"We presented a proposal on behalf of the international community that contains three elements - de-escalation of the situation on the ground, quick calling of new elections in the north and a return to dialogue and the normalization process," said Lajcak.
The mayors of the municipalities in the north, said Lajcak, are legal, but "they have no legitimacy", so, he explains, it is in the interest of Kosovo that these mayors are both legally elected and have legitimacy.
United States and EU
And Escobar said that he came to the meeting as a friend of Kosovo, and when asked by journalists if Kurti accepted their proposal, he said that "they are at the beginning of the mission". RSE reports. Which means Kurti still hasn't accepted anything.
The American emphasized that "he has never seen so much unity within the transatlantic community", that the USA, the EU and NATO and "almost every friend of Kosovo" have proposed the same in terms of solving the problematic situation, so he hopes that Kurti will appreciate it.
At the beginning of the meeting, Kurti proudly informed Lajčak and Escobar that a certain Slađana Pantović, a Serb, had been appointed to the position of deputy president of the municipality of Zvečan.
"A Serbian woman has been appointed to the position of deputy mayor of the municipality of Zvečan," Kurti said, adding that he wants to work with the EU and the US, as partners and allies, to de-escalate the situation in the north, reports Kosovo Online.
The next stop of the reconciliation caravan is Belgrade, where the delegation duo will meet with Aleksandar Vučić.
AI/RTS/RSE/FoNet
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