Special Envoy of the European Union for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia Miroslav Lajčák stated that “tensions are still high” between the two countries, while he and U.S. envoy Gabriel Escobar had hoped for more substantial results during their visit to Belgrade and Pristina.
The purpose of their trip was to address the tense situation in northern Kosovo and explore possibilities for a political solution.
In a social media post, Lajčák expressed concerns about the situation and emphasized the urgency for de-escalation.
The European Union and the United States, in addition to immediate de-escalation, have called for early elections in the north with the participation of the Serbs living in that part of Kosovo and the return of the parties to the dialogue towards the normalization of relations. These points were reiterated during their meetings with the leaders of Kosovo and Serbia.
“After a brief pause at the Annual Meeting of the European Council on Foreign Relations in Stockholm, where I had the opportunity to speak with numerous individuals from Europe and the US, I have now returned to Brussels to inform the EU and Member States about my findings and the next steps. We continue our efforts to enable and support a sustainable political solution,” wrote Lajčák.
A day earlier, Escobar stated that the US is committed to assisting both Kosovo and Serbia in their integration into the European Union.
Escobar also mentioned the agreement reached between Kosovo and Serbia in Ohrid, North Macedonia, in March of this year. According to Escobar, the implementation of this agreement paves the way for a “peaceful and constructive relationship” between Kosovo and Serbia.
“We need to find a way to immediately deescalate the processes, deescalate the situation, and immediately return to focusing on implementing the Ohrid Agreement,” emphasized Escobar.
For Serbia, this would mean putting an end to the blockade of Kosovo’s European and international integration, and for Kosovo, it would imply the beginning of the implementation process of the Association of Serb-Majority Municipalities.
“We need to work on both things immediately,” said Escobar.
In the past two weeks, relations between Kosovo and Serbia have become tense once again, as protests have taken place in four northern municipalities by local Serb groups opposing the appointment of new mayors in North Mitrovica, Zvečan, Zubin Potok, and Leposavić.
Tensions escalated on May 29th when masked Serb groups in Zvečan attacked 30 KFOR soldiers, three of whom were injured by gunfire.
