On Tuesday 20 June, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. Against a backdrop of high tension in northern Kosovo (see EUROPE 13205/28), the Hungarian Prime Minister has ruled that the result of the election of Albanian mayors in four Serb-majority municipalities in this region of Kosovo could not be accepted since there was a turnout of no more than 3.5%.
However, Mr Orbán also stressed the importance of Belgrade releasing the three Kosovar officers arrested on 14 June by the Serbian police. Belgrade claimed that the three officers were on its territory. Pristina denied this and deemed it to be a “gesture of revenge”.
“I think it would be a good idea for you to heed Hungary’s recommendation and return these three Albanians to Kosovo, and I think that would help you advance your own cause. This is what I would ask you to consider”, declared the Hungarian Prime Minister.
This event heightened tensions between the two countries, while violence has been raging in northern Kosovo since 26 May, when Albanian mayors took office in four Serb-majority municipalities (see EUROPE 13191/6).
On 15 June, in an attempt to find a solution, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs invited the Serbian President and the Kosovar Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, to a crisis meeting in Brussels, which is due to take place this week. Mr Vučić made his attendance at the meeting conditional upon Belgrade’s demands being met (see EUROPE 13204/14).
At the time of writing, the European Commission was not in a position to confirm – or deny – that this meeting would take place in the near future. “The current aim is to have a meeting in Brussels, but we have note received any news. We still have a few days before the end of the week, but it is not possible to confirm anything at the moment”, commented a Commission spokesman. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)