The Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Pristina Nicholas Abbott called on the Government of Kosovo to listen to the advice of its international friends and partners regarding the situation in the northern part of the country.
After meeting with the Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti, Abbott reiterated the international community’s stance that Kosovo should not insist on having the new Albanian mayors of the municipalities in the north work from the municipal buildings.
“We continue to seek de-escalation of the situation [in the north]. We do not believe it is necessary for mayors to work from municipal offices, and we also do not believe that special police units should act as guards for municipal buildings. They have much more important work to do. I hope very much that we will see a change in the coming days. We will see proposals, and I hope we will see more cooperation between security agencies,” said Abbott.
In Leposavić, Zvečan, and Zubin Potok – predominantly Serbian municipalities in northern Kosovo – the security situation has worsened since May 26th, when the Albanian mayors officially took office despite local residents’ resistance.
Local Serbs in these three municipalities have been organizing protests in front of municipal buildings since then.
The international community has presented three requests to Kosovo: de-escalation of the situation in the north, holding new local elections in the four northern municipalities, and a return to the dialogue for the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia.
Ambassador Abbott was also asked about the draft statute for the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities in Kosovo proposed by the Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama. However, the British ambassador said he had not yet read it.
“This is a difficult time, and I think it should be entirely normal for Kosovo to listen to the advice of its friends and partners. Albania is a country that is very close to Kosovo. We know that there will be intergovernmental talks in the coming weeks. I am sure there will be many issues on the table. My advice to the government is to listen to everyone, find the right way forward, but find a way that shows understanding for the concerns of its friends,” the ambassador said.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama announced Thursday that he had sent a draft on the Association to the President of France Emmanuel Macron, and the Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz, a day earlier.
Rama said the document is confidential but expressed confidence that it is “an internationally high-level document that takes into account all the reasons for the creation of the Association and that the Association is part of the organization of life in Kosovo”.
Kosovo and Serbia reached an agreement on the Association in 2013, and later in 2015, the parties also signed the Agreement on the principles governing the Association’s establishment.
The United States and the European Union have continuously called on Kosovo to begin implementing the Agreement on the Association. However, despite ongoing appeals, Kosovo has consistently refused, arguing that the broad competencies of the Association would jeopardize the internal functioning of the state.
