Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti said he understands the concerns coming from international partners regarding the situation in the north municipalities of the country where local Serbs refused entry in office to the new elected mayors, but any other option would be a breach of obligations.
In a Facebook update, Kurti said that the municipal buildings belong to the state of Kosovo.
“We are aware and we understand the concerns our international partners raise. But any other option would be a failure to fulfill the constitutional obligations of our government towards the new mayors, it would be a failure to fulfill the obligations of the new mayors towards the citizens of the Republic, and would make it impossible to provide basic municipal services to them,” said Kurti.
The Prime Minister called on all citizens, especially Kosovo Serbs, to collaborate with the new mayors, while thanking the Police of Kosovo for their professional stance in defending the rule of law.
On Friday, May 26th, the new elected mayors in the municipalities of the north, all Albanian, were assisted by Kosovo’s Police in entering municipal offices, due to groups of local Serbs opposing the act.
On Thursday, the elected mayors took their oaths in schools and other public buildings in these municipalities, due to safety concerns. There were gunshots in Zvečan, with the Police of Kosovo announcing that at least five officers had been injured.
The clash was condemned by international partners, while Serbia raised its combat readiness to respond to the situation.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the acts of the Government of Kosovo that escalated tensions in the north, warning that there would be “serious consequences in the bilateral relations” if Kurti did not change his rhetoric.
Even the European Union condemned the clashes in the north, asking for immediate measures in deescalating the situation. “We will not accept any further unilateral, provocative actions,” said the bloc’s spokesperson Peter Stano.
Calls for retreat and de-escalation were also made jointly by the QUINT states: USA, France, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom.
Partial local elections were held in the four northern municipalities of Kosovo on April 23rd, after the resignation of leaders from the ranks of the Serb List, the largest party of Kosovo Serbs, in November last year. The party abandoned all institutions of Kosovo, due to the Government’s decision in Pristina to carry out the process of re-registration of vehicles with illegal Serbian license plates. The elections were boycotted by the Serb population inhabiting those municipalities and the result is now not recognized by them.
Participation in the April elections was only 3.47% of the total number of registered voters.
