Borrell answers Kurt's five-point plan: You haven't addressed all cases.

EU Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell has responded to Prime Minister Albin Kurti in his letter sent days ago about de-progressing the situation in the north.

In the letter, Borrell thanks Kurt for his commitment, but says he has not addressed some of the key issues that have prompted the current crisis and, Borrell says, should be addressed to restore peace in northern Kosovo.

Allow me to repeat the elements for de-progress defined by 27 EU member states and the United States, which remain valid and that we have asked you to follow: As a first step, the four mayors in northern Kosovo must work temporarily from different locations from municipal buildings. This request has already been accepted by the mayors of Zubin Potok and Zvecan. We believe that the heads of Leposaviqi and North Mitrovica, who belong to your political party, will soon follow the example”.

“We have also requested the immediate break of police operations in the vicinity of municipal facilities in northern Kosovo. Kosovo Special Police must withdraw. In parallel, we are asking Serbia to support the withdrawal of radical elements from these areas. After de-progression, we are willing to discuss more in detail security agreements with KFOR/ EULEX in four municipalities, which you suggest at the point of three”.

We also requested that early elections be held as soon as possible in all four municipalities and fully comprehensively organised. We expect Kosovo Serbs to participate in these elections, and we have made that request clear to President Vuciq. Under Kosovo's legislation, there are various possible ways of calling new elections, where the easiest and fastest is in the competence of mayors of”, the EU foreign policy chief has said, among other things.

As for the other points Kurt put up in his letter, Borrell says:

“There can be no punishment for the violence committed on May 29th, and EULEX will monitor all investigations in line with its mandate. As you know very well, I am willing to call a high-level meeting with you and President Vuciq with the precondition that you are ready to take the necessary steps to prioritize and pave the way for new local elections. We cannot make progress in normalising relations while dealing with crisis management. 27 EU member states as well as the US have invested a lot in the normalisation process, and we want to see it move forward. That's why de escalation is needed immediately. If you are ready to take the necessary steps, a meeting may soon be organised”.

You've already received detailed comments from us on your proposal. Both sides have recently received a new draft proposal from Lajcak, who takes into account many of your suggestions. We are expecting reactions from the parties and expect this proposal to be acceptable for both”.

“As to possible common security assessments, these could be discussed after de-progress occurred. However, this means that you would take into account the opinions of EULEX and KFOR and treat them as partners, meaning preliminary co-ordination with them. We regret that this was not the case for the operation yesterday in northern Mitrovica. Therefore, any future measures for rule of law in northern Kosovo would have to be discussed and assessed individually together with EULEX and KFOR. Events of the past have shown that not every measure taken by Kosovo under the umbrella of rule of law can be supported by your international partners in the context of the very fragile environment”.

I urge you to take more decisive steps to de-tradition the situation, along the lines of measures required by the EU member states and our American partners. Only after peace and stability are restored in the north of Kosovo can we focus on normalisation, through full implementation of both sides of the Agreement on the road to normalisation and the annex of implementation; work on establishing the Association/Unibility of Serb Majorities must start without any further delay or precondition”.

“Sic has made 27 EU member states very clear, failure to deceleration will result in negative consequences. Member States have been informed of the measures and we will communicate them publicly”.

Kurti's five-point plan to reduce tensions in the north

• Law rule in four municipalities in the north, meaning identification, prosecution and fair trial of all members of criminal groups that have attacked police, NATO troops and journalists
• Violent groups withdraw immediately from Kosovo territory, any criminal act against Kosovo institutions
• Kosovo police, NATO and EULEX members conduct joint security assessments to ensure a safe and safe environment for all.
• Kosovo government to co-ordinate with all actors and announce early elections in four municipalities in the north
• Kosovo and Serbia return to Brussels-brokered dialogue, and a summit to be held this week/Klankosova. tv