The West does not support the opening of the bridge in Mitrovica, Kurti insists

2024-08-02 13:33:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The United States ambassador in Pristina, Jeffrey Hovenier, said on Friday that the QUINT countries and NATO do not support the opening of the Ibri bridge in Mitrovica at this time.

He made these comments after a meeting of representatives of the QUINT countries with the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, in Pristina.

"Representatives of France, Germany, Italy, Great Britain, the United States, together with the EU ambassador in Kosovo, met with Prime Minister Kurti today to inform him that our governments in consultation with NATO cannot support no change in the current status of the Mitrovica bridge at this time," Hovenier told reporters after the meeting.

Despite the opposition of the QUINT and NATO countries, Kurti said that "the bridge must be opened".

"She is at the service of everyone and is not against anyone. Freedom of movement and the rule of law do not endanger peace and security, on the contrary," says the Kosovo government communique issued after the meeting.

It was said by his cabinet that Kurti, on Friday, presented the government's plan for the opening of the bridge over the Iber River in Mitrovica to the diplomatic representatives of the QUINT and EU countries.

"The plan foresees tests for the infrastructural stability of the bridge, assessment of risk and risks from natural disasters, visual revitalization of the bridge with access to the bridge for all, discussions with citizens and interest groups as well as a comprehensive information campaign on the benefits and goals of the opening of the bridge".

According to the government, consultations and coordination continue.

"As stated in the European Union's plan for the revitalization of the bridge, the Mitrovica bridge over the Ibar will become a symbol of the normalization of relations in Kosovo. In the same plan it is stated that "its revitalization will greatly contribute to facilitating contacts between all citizens of North and South Mitrovica and thus will contribute to exchanges and understanding".

The bridge is currently only open for pedestrians, although, as part of the dialogue, it has been agreed to open it for traffic as well.

Italian soldiers of KFOR, the NATO mission in Kosovo, are patrolling the bridge over the Iber, while members of the Kosovo Police are also nearby.

From the civilian sector in Kosovo, they say that the key factor in the opening of the bridge is, in fact, KFOR, because it must move its soldiers, that is, give its consent.

The European Union, meanwhile, has said that the issue of opening the Ibri bridge should be a topic of dialogue with Serbia.

This was opposed by the president of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, who declared on Thursday that "such a thing would be a serious violation of sovereignty, territorial integrity and constitutionality in our country".

"Vuçiqi has nothing to do with the question of when the bridges will be opened for traffic in the Republic of Kosovo. The only dialogue that should take place is the one within Kosovo, between our institutions and our security partners [especially with NATO]" , Osmani said.

In the framework of the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, the parties have agreed to open the bridge for traffic, but this has never been realized in practice. Only one side of it is open for pedestrians.

Discussions about the bridge have been updated in recent months, after calls to the North Mitrovica Municipal Assembly for the bridge to be completely opened for traffic. This municipality in the north of Kosovo is led by Erden Atiq from the ruling party, Vetëvendosje Movement.

The Speaker of the Municipal Assembly of North Mitrovica, Nexhad Uglanin, said that the implementation of the decision on the issue of the bridge belongs to the central authorities and security institutions.

Officials of this Assembly even said that the opening of the bridge is also under the jurisdiction of South Mitrovica and the peacekeeping mission of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Kosovo, KFOR.

Even the deputy director of the Kosovo Police for the northern region, Veton Elshani, warned in May that the bridge "will be opened soon", and that he is discussing with his superiors how to do this.

The international factor, on the other hand, is constantly asking for coordination between all affected parties so that the situation does not escalate.

The main bridge over the river Ibër since 1999 divides Mitrovica into the southern part, inhabited by an Albanian majority, and the northern part, inhabited by a Serbian majority.

Albanians in South Mitrovica and Serbs in North Mitrovica - with whom Radio Free Europe spoke earlier - are divided on whether the bridge should be opened.

For the Albanians, the opening of the bridge would be a "wise thing", while for the Serbs it would be a decision that increases tensions.

Lista Serbe - the main party of the Serbs in Kosovo, which enjoys the support of Belgrade - spoke earlier against the opening of the bridge over the Iber.

According to her, such an action aims to "further destabilize the situation on the ground"./REL