Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said Tuesday he had met with the ambassadors of the QUINT countries [United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy] in the morning, to present his proposal for reducing tensions in northern Kosovo.
His five-point proposal includes:
- Rule of law in the four northern municipalities and identification and prosecution of those who attacked the police, KFOR, and journalists.
- Immediate withdrawal of violent groups from the territory of Kosovo.
- The Kosovo Police, KFOR, and EULEX to conduct joint security assessments every 15 days.
- The Government of Kosovo will coordinate with all stakeholders and announce snap elections in the four northern municipalities, to be held in a free and democratic atmosphere.
- Kosovo and Serbia return to dialogue immediately, with the EU ensuring the implementation of the reached agreement, and a high-level meeting is organized in the coming week.
Kurti stated that he had previously shared this proposal with the European Union High Representative Josep Borrell.
“With Borrell yesterday and the QUINT partner countries today, I expressed the full commitment and dedication of the Government to reduce tensions in the north and normalize relations with Serbia.”
Kurti mentioned that the situation in the north has not been normal for a long time.
“The escalation on May 29th makes it urgent to bring before justice all those who used violence against the Kosovo Police, NATO soldiers, and you, journalists.”
The international community has three requests for Kurti regarding the situation in the north:
- Escalation of the situation there
- Holding new elections
- The return to the dialogue for the normalization of Kosovo-Serbia relations, mediated by the European Union.
The Prime Minister expressed his interest in holding new elections, but according to him, there is no need to rush “toward a new failure”.
He stated that he does not want to set the election date but wants to analyze all scenarios.
“I am interested in having new elections in the north. I understand that the turnout has been low. Legitimacy is far from being complete in those municipalities. However, the others have no legitimacy at all. A new electoral process is needed.”
Regarding Edi Rama’s proposal for the Association
During the press conference, Kurti was also asked about the proposal made by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama for the formation of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo.
Kurti said that instead of proposing an Association for Serbs in Kosovo, Rama should propose such an association to Belgrade for Albanians in Serbia.
“I have no doubt that the Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania, Edi Rama, believes that his draft statute proposal is good. In that case, what I propose is for Prime Minister Rama to present this draft statute for national minorities to the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, at the next Open Balkans meeting, at the latest, for Albanians in Preševo, Medveđa, and Bujanovac.”
Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama stated on June 8th that he had sent a draft on the Association to the President of France Emmanuel Macron, and the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Rama said that the document is confidential but expressed confidence that it is “a document of the highest international level, taking into consideration all the reasons for the creation of the Association and that the Association is part of the organization of life in Kosovo”.
Several diplomatic sources in the European Union, who have had the opportunity to review the draft text, have said that “the text is written with great seriousness and has a very high quality in terms of writing”.
Kosovo and Serbia have reached agreement on the Association in 2013, and then in 2015 on the principles for its establishment.
In 2015, the Constitutional Court of Kosovo found that the agreement is not in full harmony with the Constitution.
Serbia demands that Kosovo implement the agreements reached, but the current Government of Kosovo has declared against a mono-ethnic association.
