North Kosovo Tensions, PM Rama Says Kurti Is 'Completely Wrong'
The head of the government, Edi Rama, gave an interview to the BBC where he talked about the tensions in the north of Kosovo and said that the European leaders agree that Kosovo PM Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic should sit at a table.
Rama supported the position of the EU and the US, saying that the Prime Minister of Kosovo is completely wrong and uses the argument that the internationals are not trying to please Serbia, but to take Kosovo to the next level.
"There is a disturbing situation in the north of Kosovo, but I will not emphasize it too much in terms of danger. I will only say that this situation was initially provoked by the abandonment of the institutions by the Serbs, which created a vacuum. And secondly, from the insistence of the Kosovo authorities to put these mayors in empty offices, where the majority of the population is Serbian. It was good that elections were held and that it was shown that no one can hold democratic processes hostage in an independent country, but it was not a good idea to insist on the entry of these mayors into empty municipalities with the help of the police and intervention of KFOR and the injury of soldiers.
I'm not here to blame anyone, I'm just answering your questions. I think the broader perspective is positive. Serbia and Kosovo, thanks to Kurti and Vucic, are very close to closing the historic agreement. I also believe that the fact that the agreement is so close, based on the Franco-German proposal with mutual recognition, has irritated both sides. It is like a couple at the church door before they get married, who start to doubt.
I think there is no other way in the world that this agreement will not be done. The question is when. We were at a summit of the European Community with all the leaders in Moldova and all of them, especially the French president and the German chancellor, are convinced that Kurti and Vucic should sit down at a table and close the deal.
I'm sorry to say it but I think the same and this is not a servile position, but I am convinced that the USA and the EU are right and Albini is completely wrong because they are not trying to please Serbia, but to take Kosovo to the next level, that it means a state that is recognized by all, that can sit in the UN and any other institution.
It is true and it cannot be denied, but it is also true that the entry of the mayors into the offices despite the good advice of good friends of Kosovo, without whom Kosovo would not be what it is today, was an excessive step. That being said, I think that Serbia is not a danger to Kosovo since 1999, it has definitely lost Kosovo since 1999. Now is the time for peace, for normalization, to accept to give Serbia what is due by agreement, that is, the association of municipalities with a Serbian majority, and the right for the Serbian Orthodox Church to have its activity in Kosovo and for Serbia to accept that Kosovo no longer exists, and to accept mutual recognition," Rama said.