Current:Home > FinanceEU and US envoys urge Kosovo and Serbia to resume dialogue to ease soaring tension-LoTradeCoin
EU and US envoys urge Kosovo and Serbia to resume dialogue to ease soaring tension
View Date:2024-12-23 16:14:01
PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — The envoys of the European Union and the United States urged on Saturday Kosovo and Serbia to resume dialogue as the only way to de-escalate the soaring tension between the two nations.
This is the first such visit since Sept. 24 when around 30 Serb gunmen crossed into northern Kosovo, killing a police officer and setting up barricades, before launching an hours-long gun battle with Kosovo police. Three gunmen were killed.
EU envoy Miroslav Lajcak and his U.S. counterpart Gabriel Escobar, accompanied by top diplomats from Germany, France and Italy, met with Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti in the capital, Pristina, after which they will head to Belgrade.
“If there is no dialog, there might be a repetition of escalation,” said Lajcak after meeting with Kurti.
Lajcak said they strongly denounced “the terrorist attack against Kosovo police by armed individuals (that) constitutes a clear and unprecedented escalation.”
He added that the attack also “very clearly underlined that both de-escalation and normalization are now more urgent than ever.”
Both Serbia and Kosova want to join the EU, which has told them that they first need to sort out their differences.
Western powers want Kosovo and Serbia to implement a 10-point plan put forward by the EU in February to end months of political crises. Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic gave their approval at the time, but with some reservations that haven’t been resolved, mainly the establishment of the Association of the Serb-Majority Municipalities, or ASM.
The EU and U.S. are pressuring Kosovo to allow for the creation of the ASM, to coordinate work on education, health care, land planning and economic development at the local level.
A 2013 Pristina-Belgrade agreement on forming the Serb association was later declared unconstitutional by Kosovo’s Constitutional Court, saying the plan wasn’t inclusive of other ethnicities and could entail the use of executive powers to impose laws.
Pristina fears the new association is an effort by Belgrade to create a Serb mini-state with wide autonomy, similar to Republika Srpska in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Lajcak urged Pristina “to move on the establishment of the Association of Serb majority municipalities in Kosovo without further delay.”
“Without this, there will be no progress on Kosovo’s European path,” which both Kosovo and Serbia have set as a primary target.
In July, the EU imposed punishing measures on Kosovo for refusing the ASM, suspending funding of some projects and halting visits of top diplomats.
Following the failure of the September talks between Kurti and Vucic and the recent flare-up, it’s unclear when another round of meetings might take place, and the EU appears to have little leverage left.
The United States is the other key player in the process.
Kosovo has called on Europe to sanction Serbia which it blames for the Sept. 24 attack, saying no talks could be further held and demanding higher security measures from Western powers for fear of an increased presence of Serb military forces along its border.
There are widespread fears in the West that Russia could use Belgrade to reignite ethnic conflicts in the Balkans — which experienced a series of bloody battles in the 1990s during the breakup of Yugoslavia — to draw world attention away from its war on Ukraine.
NATO has reinforced KFOR, which normally has a troop strength of 4,500, with an additional 200 troops from the U.K. and more than 100 from Romania. It also sent heavier armaments to beef up the peacekeepers’ combat power.
Serbia and its former province, Kosovo, have been at odds for decades. Their 1998-99 war left more than 10,000 people dead, mostly Kosovo Albanians. Kosovo unilaterally declared independence in 2008 but Belgrade has refused to recognize the move.
—
Llazar Semini reported from Tirana, Albania. Follow him at https://twitter.com/lsemini
veryGood! (63558)
Related
- Melissa Gilbert recalls 'painful' final moment with 'Little House' co-star Michael Landon
- Scientists: Climate change intensified the rains devastating East Africa
- The Best Family Gifts That Will Delight the Entire Crew This Holiday Season
- What to know about Hanukkah and how it's celebrated around the world
- Watch a rescuer’s cat-like reflexes pluck a kitten from mid-air after a scary fall
- Live updates | Palestinians live in dire human conditions in Gaza despite Israel’s safe zone
- Unique ways Americans celebrate the holidays, from skiing Santas to Festivus feats
- Mother of Florida boy accused of football practice shooting now charged with felony
- Mike Tyson concedes the role of villain to young foe in 58-year-old’s fight with Jake Paul
- Ford recalling more than 18K trucks over issue with parking lights: Check the list
Ranking
- Wreck of Navy destroyer USS Edsall known as 'the dancing mouse' found 80 years after sinking
- Pearl Harbor survivors return to attack site to honor those who died 82 years ago: Just grateful that I'm still here
- Menu signed by Mao Zedong brings a quarter million dollars at auction
- If Shohei Ohtani signs with Dodgers, pitcher says he'd change uniform numbers
- Vikings' Camryn Bynum celebrates game-winning interception with Raygun dance
- How Ian Somerhalder and Nikki Reed Built Their Life Away From Hollywood
- Rebels in Congo take key outpost in the east as peacekeepers withdraw and fighting intensifies
- 20 Thoughtful Holiday Gift Ideas For College Students They'll Actually Use
Recommendation
-
About Charles Hanover
-
Recording Academy, ex CEO Mike Greene sued for sexual assault of former employee Terri McIntyre
-
Medicare open enrollment ends today. Ignoring the deadline could cost you
-
DWTS’ Julianne Hough Shares Message After Derek Hough’s Wife Hayley Erbert Undergoes Skull Surgery
-
Demure? Brain rot? Oxford announces shortlist for 2024 Word of the Year: Cast your vote
-
The UK says it has paid Rwanda $300 million for a blocked asylum deal. No flights have taken off
-
Peaky Blinders' Benjamin Zephaniah Dead at 65 After Brain Tumor Battle
-
Movie Review: In ‘Poor Things,’ Emma Stone takes an unusual path to enlightenment