Hasani: In the 21st century, no armies are taken to the border

Named as the ridiculous “ ”, Albania's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Igli Hasani called on Serbia to stop its military at the Kosovo border.

Hasani, during a joint media conference in Pristina with his Kosovo counterpart, Donika Grovalla, said Kosovo's security is guaranteed by NATO.

We call on all actors and factors that live in the 21st century, not the army to the nearest border. No one should play this game anymore, which is ridiculous because we are all clear that Kosovo's greatest guarantee of integrity and sovereignty is NATO, where and Albania is part of”, Hasani said.

Last year, after increasing tensions between Kosovo and Serbia, official Belgrade has several times sent its army close to the border with Kosovo, which has prompted United States They call for Serb troops to withdraw.

Hasani, who is staying in Kosovo on his first official visit, spoke of the September 24th attack on Zvecan Banjska. That day, a group of armed Serbs attacked the Kosovo Police, killing a policeman. Three Serb attackers were also killed in the subsequent clashes.

Milan Radojic, former vice president of the Serbian List, the main party of Serbs in Kosovo, took responsibility for the attack.

Kosovo has blamed Serbia, but Belgrade has denied it had a role in the events in Banjska.

Albania's top diplomat called for those responsible for the attack, which he named terrorist, to face justice, since, according to him, this is necessary “to prevent an escalation with potentially irrevocable consequences”.

His Kosovo counterpart, Donika Grovalla, spoke of Banjska, again called on the international factor to sanction Serbia.

“Therefore, not only for the sake of Kosovo's peace and security and its citizens, but especially for the sake of long-term peace and stability throughout our region, the international community should not remain silent, but strongly punish any attempts to destabilise neighbouring countries”, she said.

According to Minister Hasani, security and stability in the Western Balkans “are more threatened than at any other moment during the last decade”.

The two top diplomats also stopped in dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, which is mediated by the European Union.

Hasani said that on October 26th in Brussels, Albin Kurti, he accepted “without conditions” to sign the agreement towards normalising the reports. Albania's top diplomat said all agreements reached in the Brussels dialogue.

“We call on our international partners to maintain this moment and push towards a final progress”, Hasani said.

On 26 October, at separate meetings, Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vuciq met with representatives of the EU, France, Germany and Italy. Kosovo's prime minister has stated that at this meeting he has accepted the proposal for establishing the Association of Serb majority municipalities and has been willing to sign agreements for normalisation of reports, but this has been rejected by the Serbian leader.

Gervalla said that with the 26 October meeting, the ball has already crossed into the EU field.

“... The ball has been passed to the EU and it is the turn of mediators to bring Serbia to the table with a constructive approach to signing agreements that have been linked last year. Neither [the EU's punishment against Kosovo] nor the reasoning can cast darkness on the fact that the ball that is in the EU has to move”, Grovall said.

The agreement on the road to normalisation of reports has been reached at the beginning of last year, but the parties have not signed it.

The normalisation agreement, of 11 provisions, also envisions a level of self-awareness for the Serb community in Kosovo and mutual recognition of state symbols, while demanding from Pristina and Belgrade to implement, as well, all previous agreements reached during the dialogue.

Serbia insists that Kosovo establish the Association of Serb majority municipalities, but the government in Kosovo has expressed itself against a single-ethnic association.