Kosovo, Serbia tensions, German minister visits Tirana

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will travel to Tirana today amid growing Kosovo-Serbia tensions.

“Back will talk to leaders from Serbia and Kosovo and will continue to urge both sides to avoid escalation of the conflict during a meeting of Western Balkan foreign ministers in Albania”, a German Foreign Ministry spokesman announced on Wednesday.

Meetings in Albania are part of the Berlin “Process”, which began in 2014 to promote co-operation among the six Western Balkan countries.

The recent crisis between Kosovo and Serbia arose after a group triggered aggression when it attacked police in northern Kosovo, killing a policeman.

Speaking to the media in Berlin, German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Kathrin Deschauer said the situation in the region is “quite disturbing”, in the wake of the latest round of deadly violence in northern Kosovo.

Serbia has the obligation to, unequivocally, call for a break from violence. In general, the situation is tense. The first signs of reducing Serbian troops are an important step towards de-progression. However, we want to stress again that further steps must now be taken towards de-tradition”, she said.

Meanwhile, a German Defence Ministry spokesman said there are currently no plans to increase the number of German troops deployed in Kosovo, as part of the NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping mission.

There are currently 71 German soldiers on the ground as part of the mission. /rtsh.al/