NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday urged Serbian President Aleksander Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti to avoid any «unilateral action» that would exacerbate tensions in northern Kosovo, where controversy over the introduction of a law to exchange Serbian license plates for Kosovar ones in a Serb-majority area threatens to generate conflict.
«I have spoken to Vucic and Kurti about the tense situation in northern Kosovo. I have urged both of them to avoid any unilateral action that could lead to escalation. Dialogue is the only way out,» the former Norwegian prime minister said in a message on social networks in which he gave an account of his talks.
In this regard, Stoltenberg stressed that NATO’s mission in Kosovo, KFOR, remains «vigilant», after the military organization stressed on Sunday that it remains vigilant and ready to intervene if stability is threatened.
This Sunday there was a rally in Mitrovica, the most important town in the Serb-majority north of Kosovo, where banners could be read against Kurti, which comes after Kosovo Serbs resigned en bloc from their positions as deputies, mayors and officials from all fields in coordinated protest to express their rejection of the imposition of Kosovar license plates in the north of the territory.
The rule planned for the summer already generated then the violent reaction of the Serbian community and then a transition period was agreed. Now Pristina has announced a progressive implementation of the measure until April 21 after postponing its introduction initially planned for November 1.
On the other hand, the EU has called for dialogue between the parties. Thus, it has criticized the withdrawal of Kosovo Serbs from Kosovo institutions, assuring that «it is not the solution to the current disputes and may provoke an escalation of tension», while it has also asked Pristina to «respect its own obligations without delay», extending the deadline for the implementation of Kosovar license plates and suspending sanctions on those who use Serbian license plates.
Another of the points on which European diplomacy is stressing is that Kosovo should move forward in the creation of the Association of Serbian Municipalities, «a binding legal obligation for Kosovo», as signed with Belgrade in the EU-sponsored dialogue.
