The American ambassador in Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, said this Thursday that force should not be used to enter municipal buildings in the north of Kosovo.

He made these statements, since on Friday it is expected that the new mayors of the northern municipalities of Kosovo will take the oath and start their work.

The new mayors, all from the Albanian parties, were elected in the elections held in April, in the northern municipalities inhabited by a majority of Serbs after the resignations of the previous mayors, as a sign of dissatisfaction with the decision of the Government of Kosovo to re-register illegal Serbian cars in the Republic of Kosovo.

A large part of the citizens boycotted this election process. According to the data of the Central Electoral Commission, 1,567 voters or 3.47 percent of the electoral body participated in the elections.

The calls for a boycott were made by Serb List, the main party of Serbs in Kosovo, which has the support of official Belgrade.

When Hovenier was asked how the process might go on Friday, he said that “The United States believe it is important that this be done in a way that avoids conflict and increasing tensions in the North.”

“We expect the elected presidents to exercise a technical role, and not a political one, also to undertake actions that are not seen as escalating. For example, we don’t think it’s a good idea to use force to gain access to buildings that may not be accessible now,” he said.