BRUSSELS, Nov. 7 () –
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday urged the President of Serbia, Aleksander Vucic, and the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, to avoid any “unilateral action” that would exacerbate tensions in northern Kosovo, where The controversy over the implementation of a law to change Serb license plates for Kosovars in an area with a Serb majority threatens to generate conflict.
“I have spoken with Vucic and Kurti about the tense situation in northern Kosovo. I have urged both to avoid any unilateral action that could cause an escalation. Dialogue is the only way out,” the former Norwegian prime minister said in a message. in social networks in which he has reported his conversations.
In this sense, Stoltenberg stressed that the NATO mission in Kosovo, KFOR, remains “vigilant”, after this Sunday the military organization stressed that it remains vigilant and prepared to intervene if stability is threatened.
This Sunday there was a rally in Mitrovica, the most important town in northern Kosovo with a Serb majority, in which banners could be read against Kurti, who arrives after the Kosovar Serbs resigned en bloc from their positions as deputies, mayors and officials. from all areas in coordinated protest to express their rejection of the imposition of Kosovar license plates in the north of the territory.
The norm scheduled for the summer already generated a violent reaction from the Serbian community and a transition period was agreed upon. Now Pristina has announced a progressive implementation of the measure until April 21 after postponing its introduction initially scheduled for November 1.
On the other hand, the EU has called for dialogue between the parties. Thus, he has criticized the withdrawal of the Kosovar Serbs from the institutions of Kosovo, assuring that “it is not the solution to the current disputes and may cause an escalation of tension”, while he has also asked Pristina to “respect its own obligations without procrastination”, extending the deadline for the implementation of Kosovar license plates and suspending sanctions for those who use Serbian license plates.
Another of the points on which European diplomacy affects is that Kosovo advance in the creation of the Association of Serb Municipalities, “a binding legal obligation for Kosovo”, as signed with Belgrade in the dialogue sponsored by the EU.
