Schallenberg: Kosovo halt police stakes in municipal buildings in North

The current situation in Kosovo is unstable, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said today in a proposal for Serbian media, and called on both sides to take concrete urgent measures to descale the situation and resume in dialogue.

If they are not engaged, there will be negative consequences, Schallenberg added.

“The expectations of the European Union and Austria are clear, especially towards Kosovo, which has been called to end police stakes near municipal buildings in the north, which should ensure that the mayors of municipalities do their job in other countries and organise new elections as soon as possible, in which we also expect the participation of Serbs in northern Kosovo”, Schallenberg said.

He noted that both sides must now take steps to end “crisis” and work for a sustainable solution within dialogue, under the leadership of Josep Borrell and Miroslav Lajcak.

For this reason, the Austrian diplomatic chief welcomed the fact that Serbian President Aleksandar Vuciq and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, in yesterday's talks with Borrell in Brussels, agreed on the need for new elections in four municipalities in northern Kosovo.

Schallenberg stressed at the European Forum in Wachau that dialogue has no alternative and added that the responsibility currently lies with Kosovo, adding that the situation has changed compared to 10 years ago.

On the other hand, he has declared that arresting Kosovo police officers is unacceptable.

“The status quo cannot be maintained and Kosovo must understand that it is necessary to create a situation in which everyone feels secure”, Schallenberg said.