Head of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) parliamentary group, Zenun Pajaziti, has called on all political parties to speak in one voice about the situation in the north and the dialogue with Serbia. He said the launch of debate on these issues is “a political agenda” and that Kosovo has more important things to think about such as European integration. Pajaziti also called on Kosovo Serb representatives to return to the Assembly.
The Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Kosovo, Ruairi O’Connell, considers that Kosovo and Serbia should continue with the dialogue mediated by the European Union. In an interview for Radio Kosova, O’Connell said that he does not believe the recently increased tensions between Kosovo and Serbia could lead to a new conflict. “I am very pleased that the Presidents and the Prime Ministers, as far as I know, agreed to lower tensions and this is very important,” O’Connell said.
In an interview with Deutsche Welle, President of Kosovo Hashim Thaci said that Belgrade should be pressured to stop undermining Kosovo’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. “Seeing Brussels silence, Belgrade gets more encouraged to proceed with its plans to annex the northern part of Kosovo and join it to Serbia,” said Thaci adding that such a scenario will not unfold as Kosovo will use its constitutional and legal power to prevent it.
Edita Tahiri, Kosovo’s Minister for Dialogue, rejected the claims of Serbia’s Foreign Minister, Ivica Dačić with regards to an agreement which halts Kosovo forces operate in the north of Kosovo. “The armed forces and security forces can move in the north without anyone’s permission,” said Tahiri, who had participated at signing of the agreement for normalisation of the relations with Serbia in April 2013.
The representative of the multi-ethnic organization for the development and training MODT in North Mitrovica, Emir Prekazi says that Albanians in northern Kosovo feel safe.
Albanians who live in the three northern municipalities, Mitrovica North, Leposaviq, and Zubin Potok, feel endangered by Serbs after the tensioning of the security situation in the country. This insecurity is especially felt after the building of the wall in Mitrovica and the provocative train of Serbia, which was not allowed to enter Kosovo.
Sources from NATO Headquarters said that the Brussels Agreement of 2013, mentioned these days by Serbia, does not include Kosovo police forces.
These sources, Serbian media report, claim that “Kosovo authorities do not have to seek KFOR’s permission to send their police forces anywhere in Kosovo.”
A group of a dozen young men in the Albanian part of the village of Suvi Do/Suhodoll, near Mitrovica, threw snowballs and ice-balls at the minibus that was transporting Serbs, says the driver.
The driver told Tanjug that the attack occurred yesterday about 12:30 and that this was not the first attack on the minibus that runs on daily basis on this route.
He reminded that a few days ago, he was attacked with stones and that previously similar attacks happened.
Russian Foreign Minister on Tuesday said that a new war in the Balkans must be avoided, and that Albanian forces should not be in northern Kosovo and Metohija.
Speaking during his annual news conference in Moscow, Lavrov touched on the latest tensions between Belgrade and Pristina.
"The forces of Kosovo Albanians should not be present in the north of Kosovo and Metohija, which is inhabited by Serbs," said Lavrov.
After the statement of the mayor of Mitrovica North, Goran Rakić, that the concrete wall between north and south Mitrovica will not be demolished but only redesigned with stairs which would be connected to the roundabout that will be built in the northern part, Kosovo’s Minister for Dialogue, Edita Tahiri, told Indeksonline that the wall will be removed. “It is a wall that appeared illegally. All institutions, the government and opposition are against this wall and the logic of walls,” Tahiri said.