France appoints a special envoy for the Western Balkans

2023-09-30 08:24:05, Kosova & Bota CNA

France appointed diplomat Rene Troccaz as special envoy for the Western Balkans region. In an announcement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it is stated that his appointment is in accordance with the increased involvement of France in the region against the background of the rapprochement of the Western Balkans with the European Union.

"The special envoy will be involved in the most important issues of regional politics, in consultation with his European and American counterparts. He will also monitor regional cooperation initiatives, especially the Berlin Process", the announcement states, among other things.

The announcement was made in a post on the X network, known until recently as Twitter, by the diplomat Troccaz himself, who held the position of Consul General of France in Jerusalem, while previously he had served as the ambassador of France in Cyprus and held positions of different in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and that for Europe.

. @MinColonna appointed a special envoy for the western #Balkans , @troccazrene . Cette nomination s'inscrit dans le cadre du reinforcement de l'action de la France dans cette région, dans le contexte de son rapprochement avec l'????????, que nous sutenons.
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— France Diplomatie?????????????????? (@francediplo) September 29, 2023

Mr. Troccaz will be the fifth Western envoy to the region.

Currently, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Gabriel Escobar, is the US Special Envoy, Sir Stuart Peach is the Great Britain's Special Envoy, while Miroslav Lajcak is the EU's Special Envoy for the negotiations. Kosovo - Serbia and other issues of the Western Balkans. Manuel Sarrazin is Germany's envoy for the region.

That all are part of the efforts for an agreement between Kosovo and Serbia within the talks mediated by the European Union.

The appointment of the envoy comes at a time of high tensions between Kosovo and Serbia, after on Sunday September 24 a group of gunmen opened fire on Kosovo police in the northern village of Banjska, killing one police officer and injuring another.

The group then forced their way into the village's Orthodox monastery, continuing to fire on law enforcement. The fight ended when most of the attackers escaped. Three of the armed attackers were killed.

The attack was described as a terrorist act by the institutions of Kosovo, the European Union and diplomats of Western countries.

Serbia denied any connection with the armed group, while Kosovo accuses Belgrade of organizing and supporting it.

The event has fueled new international concerns about the stability of the region, while observers say that it may have seriously damaged the already difficult process of negotiations for the normalization of relations between the two countries./ VOA