The New York Times writes that German Chancellor Merkel and French President Macron should first mediate between Thaci and Haradinaj.

The daily says that Merkel and Macron are to have "any hope of easing tensions between Kosovo and Serbia, and breaking a deadlock in talks on the normalization of relations" - then "analysts say they may first have to broker another peace, between Kosovo's two lead

MITROVICA, Kosovo — The challenge for President Aleksandar Vucic of Serbia was steep: Visiting a neighboring country whose sovereignty he does not recognize, addressing a group of people deeply distrustful of his intentions and talking about an assassination that remains unsolved.

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia — Efforts by Kosovo to suspend a war crimes court set up to prosecute atrocities committed by ethnic Albanians during their independence struggle are threatening relations with Western allies who backed Kosovo’s split from Serbia, European and American officials have warned.

Serbia hardly has a progressive track record on gay rights. So when President Aleksandar Vucic announced this month that he was nominating Ana Brnabic, a 41-year-old, openly lesbian, woman as prime minister, he stunned Serbians and outside observers alike.

With Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic’s decisive victory in the presidential election on April 2, Serbia has edged closer to autocracy. Though the presidency is largely ceremonial, Mr. Vucic can now handpick his successor as prime minister and consolidate his power, since Parliament and the judiciary are all but locked up by Mr. Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party. Having severely curtailed press freedom and marginalized political opposition, his concentration of power bodes ill for Serbian democracy.

Kosovo Assembly President, Kadri Veseli, said today that extremists want to create hostilities between countries and to destroy world cultures. “They want a world in hostility and animosities between cultures and countries; a world of chaos where human rights lose their meaning and value. Now is the time to unite around our liberal and democratic values. Religion is too important to be left in the hands of extremists. Now is the time for the victory of liberal humanism,” Veseli said at the Inter-Faith Dialogue Conference in Pristina.