On Tuesday 30 May, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that 700 additional troops would be sent to Kosovo in order to stem the violence and tensions that the north of the country has been experiencing since Friday 26 May (see EUROPE 13190/20) and to enable KFOR - the multinational armed force deployed by NATO - to carry out its mission in the region.
“Pristina and Belgrade must engage in the EU-led dialogue now, as the only way to peace and normalisation. Pristina must de-escalate and not take unilateral, destabilising steps”, commented Mr Stoltenberg.
For his part, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, also indicated that he had held talks with the Kosovar Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, in Bratislava on Wednesday 31 May.
“The current situation is dangerous and unsustainable. We need urgent de-escalation and a solution through the Dialogue to return to our work on implementing the Agreement reached”, insisted Mr Borrell after his meeting with Mr Kurti.
The north of Kosovo has seen outbreaks of violence since 26 May, when Albanian mayors of four Serb-majority municipalities took office. They were elected on 23 April in elections boycotted by Serbs living in this region of Kosovo and with a turnout of no more than 3.5%.
“We have made it very clear to the Kosovar authorities that it was a mistake to proceed with these elections”, stressed French President Emmanuel Macron, who said he hoped to meet Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani and her Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vučić at the European Political Community meeting in Chisinau. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)