Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama called for the unconditional release of three Kosovo police officers who were arrested by Serbia. He described their detention as “hostage-taking” and criticized Serbia’s stance.
“Their detention is unjustifiable, and the attempt to cover up this state abduction (by Serbia) of three foreign police officers by raising the issue of the arrest of several Serbian citizens by the Kosovo police is extremely concerning,” said Rama.
The Albanian premier added that there will be no meetings or relations with official Belgrade, until the officers are released, including the “Open Balkan” initiative.
“There will be no meeting, no other development. Each communication channel only has a sentence: Release the three Kosovo policemen. There is nothing more to say.”
Rama stated that “democratic states never respond to arrests they consider arbitrary in this way” and added that Serbia should cooperate with KFOR regarding its claims related to the arrests of Serbs in Kosovo.
Three Kosovo border police officers were arrested by Serbian forces on June 14. Serbian authorities claim they were arrested deep within Serbian territory. Meanwhile, Kosovo authorities emphasize that the three Kosovo police officers were abducted within Kosovo’s territory.
Rama expressed conviction that “without the release of those three men, there is no room for the de-escalation plan”.
The Albanian Prime Minister informed that he has once again written a letter to the heads of the European Union – President of France Emmanuel Macron, Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz, and President of the European Council Charles Michel – requesting the implementation of the Franco-German plan “without fail”.
Rama stated that otherwise, there is a risk of “armed clashes between groups operating in northern Kosovo and security forces”, which he said is only in Russia’s interest.
The European proposal, initially known as the Franco-German plan, aims to achieve full normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia.
In late March, Kosovo and Serbia agreed on a deal to normalize relations based on the European proposal, and an annex for its implementation was agreed upon in mid-April. This agreement and annex came after the crisis in northern Kosovo caused by the re-registration of vehicles with Serbian license plates.
To ensure the implementation of the reached agreements, Rama called for meetings between the two countries’ leaders.
“The two leaders should lock themselves inside, under the care and pressure of the godfathers of the agreed plan, without the right to exit until the dialogue is completed and those points that no one opposes but each one blames the other for not implementing are addressed. It is a fact that there is no willingness,” said Rama.
The situation in northern Kosovo, an area predominantly inhabited by Serbs, has been tense since May 26 when the Kosovo Police assisted the newly elected Albanian mayors of Zvečan, Leposavić, and Zubin Potok in entering municipal buildings. Local Serbs have been protesting since that day.
The international community has presented three requests to Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Albin Kurti regarding the situation in the north: de-escalation of the situation, holding new elections, and returning to the EU-mediated dialogue for the normalization of Kosovo-Serbia relations.
