The United States has shown on Tuesday its opposition to the deployment of Serbian troops in northern Kosovo, after Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced days earlier that he would ask NATO to deploy the Serbian Army and Police in Kosovo amid a spike in tension during the last hours at the border crossings with Serbia.
U.S. Special Representative for the Western Balkans Gabriel Escobar said Washington is «categorically» opposed. «We do not support it at all», he has qualified, in declarations to the Radio Free Europe radio station.
«I will underline that Kosovo has strong security guarantees from the United States, which are manifested in the participation in KFOR,» he said, referring to the NATO-led international peacekeeping force in Kosovo.
Escobar, who is in the region as part of a diplomatic effort to de-escalate tensions, stressed the importance of creating an association of municipalities with a majority of Serb residents to generate dialogue.
«The reality is that we need everyone to contribute to the process and everyone to contribute to the resolution of this current crisis,» he stressed.
«And beyond the crisis, we need to start thinking about a more sustainable framework in which communities in this country can work together,» he added.
«THE USA, AGAINST THE UN RESOLUTIONS».
However, the reaction of Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic has not been long in coming, criticizing Escobar’s position, as she did with the statements of German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who branded the Serbian plans as «unacceptable.»
«I see that my friend Gabe Escobar is yet another politician who is adamantly against valid UN Security Council resolutions,» Brnabic has indicated through his profile on the social network Twitter.
In this line, the Serbian ‘premier’ has ironically criticized Escobar, along with Baerbock or the European Parliament rapporteur for Kosovo, Viola von Cramon, «have annulled the UN Security Council resolution» with his «unanimous vote».
Serbia is obliged to ask permission from the NATO mission, KFOR, for any military deployment in the independent Kosovo, scene this weekend of an upsurge in tensions.
«There is no need for the UN to organize Security Council sessions, as a cost-saving measure, this Troika will decide on all global issues from now on,» he has denounced.
Thus, Brnabic has wondered what agreement applies to his country, if the said resolution «is not valid, because they do not like it» and «the UN Charter does not apply to Serbia, because again, you great leaders, think it should not».
«Or are we supposed to follow your horoscope to guess your wishes and help save world peace? I thank you for your time. I can only imagine how busy you must be running the world instead of the UN,» Brnabic has concluded.
