US Senators seek calm between Kurt and Vuchic

As American lawmakers, beyond party lines, we are increasingly concerned by the fragile security situation in northern Kosovo. Today, we reiterate that there is broad two-party support in the US Senate for European Union efforts, in close co-ordination with the United States, to mediate a road forward. But for a resolution to be sustainable, both Prime Minister Kurti and President Vucic must immediately hear international calls to decell the situation, restore popular confidence in local institutions in the north and commit to implementing the Normalisation Road Agreement by creating an Association of Serb majority municipalities in Kosovo.

While the two leaders consider their future steps, we encourage them to choose the peace, prosperity and security of their respective citizens. Failure to decelerate the situation would cause consequences from the West, which has worked diligently to support Kosovo and Serbia on a road ahead, and unnecessarily jeopardises the weakening of our bilateral relations. This is not in anyone's best interest. We call on Kosovo and Serbia to work in trust with the European Union and the United States to find a way forward without delay”, the statement said.

The statement comes after a telephone conversation between Prime Minister Kurti and Shaheen senators Murphy and Ricketts. Last month, Shaheen and Ricketts senators issued a statement calling for calm.

In March, Senators have issued a joint statement on the interim agreement reached between Serbia and Kosovo. Shaheen visited Kosovo and Serbia last April as part of a visit to the Congress delegation to the Balkans, which included a stop in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

With the promotion of Shaheen, the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing for the Western Balkans last month, which came after the renewed two-party push of Shaheen to advance its legislation that would promote co-operation between the US and the Western Balkans.