Special Envoy of Germany for Western Balkans, Manuel Sarrazin, has told during an interview for foreign media the conversation he had last week with Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

In the interview conducted for Table Berlin, Sarrazin said that he communicated to Prime Minister Kurti that in the conflict in the north of Kosovo, each of the parties will bear responsibility for their actions.

“First, I have to say what I said directly to Prime Minister Kurti: everyone is responsible for their own actions. Of course, Serbian President Aleksander Vučić has sowed additional distrust with statements and votes in the Council of Europe in recent weeks. However, the decision of the Kosovo government to risk this escalation by taking the mayors to the town hall with a strong police escort is a mistake for which it bears political responsibility”.

Following his speech, Sarrazin emphasized that Berlin fully supports the dialogue with the mediation of the European Union and the key priority is to return to the negotiating table.

“We fully support the EU special envoy, Miroslav Lajcak. In order to move away from the ongoing crisis situation now, the implementation of the basic agreement between the two countries, agreed in February and March, must finally progress. Chancellor Scholz and President Macron strongly supported these efforts for dialogue in joint talks with the heads of state from Kosovo and Serbia on Wednesday in Moldova. The priority here is to return to the negotiating table, calm the situation in the north, continue the new elections in the communities and implement the basic agreement”.

Regarding to Serb attacks on KFOR soldiers, he said: “You can’t say that in general. There are those who have lost their minds, who violently mixed with the demonstrators in front of the town hall. They are, of course, responsible for attacks on KFOR and the police, especially those who commit violent crimes. We should not lie that these were only citizens of North Mitrovica. They weren’t.”