Kurti at the Prespa Forum: Serbia must declare independence from the region

2023-06-16 14:40:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, said that what the region needs is for Serbia to declare independence from all the countries of the former Yugoslavia, and to give up its policies, which he considers hegemonic.

Kurti made the comments during his appearance at a panel within the Prespa Forum that is taking place in Struga, North Macedonia, on June 16.

"We are at this problematic moment, but with the basic agreement we agreed on, which is based on de facto recognition of each other, I believe we can normalize relations and calm the situation on the ground," he said.

The Prime Minister repeated that he is ready to announce extraordinary elections in the northern municipalities of Kosovo, when the ground is prepared to do such a thing, but he cannot "hand over the democratic Republic to a fascist police".

"I cannot compensate official Belgrade for the losses caused to Serbia as a state due to the Milosevic regime. This is a completely different issue and we need to separate political demands from organized crime and criminal gangs," he said.

Tensions in the north of Kosovo have been high since May 26, when the new Albanian mayors of the municipalities in the north - inhabited by a majority of Serbs - entered the municipal buildings. Local Serbs have opposed something like this and have been protesting continuously in front of municipal buildings since May 29.

The international community has criticized official Pristina for inciting tensions.

Asked at the Forum how he comments on the criticism directed at him, who have evaluated his actions as very harsh, and Kurti himself as the person who is escalating the situation, the prime minister responded by saying that he "believes in trans-Atlantic cooperation ".

"We want to contribute, not just benefit; and we wish to protect. I believe in trans-Atlantic cooperation. ", said the prime minister.

The international community has addressed three requests to Prime Minister Kurti, regarding the situation in the north:

Escalation of the situation there

Holding new elections

The return to the dialogue for the normalization of Kosovo-Serbia relations, mediated by the European Union.

Kurti, on the other hand, has presented a five-point plan to reduce tensions, which are mainly related to the fight against criminal gangs in that part of the country.

"Our police is the most professional in the region serving the most democratic state in the region. They are Western oriented and trained by Westerners. That's why we are in this important fight", he said, among other things.

Otherwise, a day earlier, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Policy and Security, Josep Borrell, has said that he will invite the representatives of Kosovo and Serbia next week in Brussels, an urgent meeting for crisis management.

Kosovo and Serbia are part of the dialogue mediated by the EU, for the normalization of relations, since 2011.

The parties have signed a bunch of agreements, but not all of them have been implemented./CNA