Mitrovica South Mayor Agim Bahtiri told BIRN that due partly to increased political tensions in the northern part of Kosovo, the reopening of the bridge that links the Albanian and the Serb-inhabited parts of the divided city of Mitrovica has been postponed to May. “Problems that arose from the construction of the wall have resulted in the delay. We expect the bridge to be opened in the first ten days of May,” Bahtiri said. Kosovo’s Minister for Dialogue, Edita Tahiri, said the process of reopening the bridge for pedestrians and vehicles is in its final phase. “It is true that there have been delays due to certain negative developments, but these issues have now been overcome,” Tahiri told BIRN. She added that the European Union is authorised to reopen the bridge. “The Kosovo government calls for the opening of the bridge as soon as possible and it believes it is one of the successes of the Brussels dialogue,” Tahiri said.