US calls for release of three Kosovar policemen detained by Serb forces

The EU special envoy for the Dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia maintains that he has information on the whereabouts of the detainees

June 16 () –

The Government of the United States has requested this Thursday the release of the three Kosovar policemen who have been detained by the Serbian forces, which has been described as a “kidnapping” by the Government of Kosovo, while the envoy of the European Union for the Dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajçak, has stated that he has information on the whereabouts of the detainees.

“What we expect from both sides is that Kosovo and Serbia take immediate steps to defuse the tension. This includes the unconditional release of the three recently detained Kosovar police officers,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said at a conference press.

Miller, who has maintained that his attention is focused on making US expectations clear with both parties, has indicated that the objective is for both the Kosovo and Serbian authorities to take “immediate measures to de-escalate tensions.”

For this reason, the State spokesman has reiterated his request to the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, to guarantee “that the elected mayors carry out their temporary functions from alternative places” and withdraw the security forces. He has also returned to condemn the “unacceptable violence” against members of the NATO force in northern Kosovo (KFOR).

The arrest of these three police officers has once again raised tensions in an area that continues to be the focus of constant political and social struggles, under the watchful eye of a European Union that is trying to mediate between the two parties but has also put certain issues on the table. requirements before closing future meetings.

Pristina has considered the arrest of the policemen as “revenge” for the arrest on Tuesday of Milun Milenkovic ‘Lune’, linked to organized crime and smuggling but, mainly, considered an instigator of violent protests in which dozens of people were injured. KFOR members.

Belgrade, for its part, has denied Kosovo’s version of the interception of the three agents, alleging that they were in Serbian territory, almost two kilometers from what is still described as an “administrative line”. According to this version, the arrested policemen were planning a terrorist attack.