The US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia, James O’Brien, said that violent events in the north of Kosovo, like the event in Banjska in September last year, Washington will not allow to be repeated.
During a virtual conversation with journalists on January 11, O’Brien called on Kosovo and Serbia to avoid provocative actions in the north of Kosovo inhabited by a majority of Serbs, writes Radio Free Europe.
He also said that he is satisfied with the cooperation and coordination of the Kosovo Police with the peacekeeping mission of NATO in Kosovo, KFOR in the northern part of Kosovo, as he recalled that the presence of international peacekeepers in this part has increased in recent months.
“Also, communication and cooperation with Belgrade has allowed us to calm down the situation. We expect this to continue and in the coming months we expect more transparency and discussion. This is especially important after the events of last September, when a group attempted to send a quantity of weapons that would cause great violence if they were able to carry out their plans. “I think this is something that both sides understand will not be allowed to happen and nobody wants that to happen again,” he said.
O’Brien referred to the attack in Banjska of Zveçan against the Kosovo Police by an armed group of Serbs. This group killed a policeman, while three attackers were also killed during the clashes.
Kosovo blamed Serbia for the attack, but Belgrade denied any involvement.
The responsibility for the attack, which Kosovo considers terrorist, was taken by Milan Radoičić, the former vice-president of Serbian List – the main party of Serbs in Kosovo, which enjoys the support of official Belgrade.
The senior American official said that the Western Balkans “must be European, stable and safe, above all this region needs economic integration”.
He said that this issue is key for the six states of the Western Balkans, as their population is leaving due to the lack of economic prospects.
O’Brien reiterated that the U.S. position has not changed in terms of supporting the dialogue process for the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, which is mediated by the European Union.
He called on the parties to fulfill their responsibilities arising from this process. He said that there has been progress in the implementation of dialogue commitments, such as the issue of car plates.
The senior American official also spoke about the irregularities reported by international observers for the parliamentary, local and provincial elections that Serbia held on December 17, 2023. He said Washington looks forward to working with the Serbian government to address these concerns, while saying the US supports peaceful protests in Serbia “by people who feel the elections were not fair and that the results were not what they expected.”
/Argumentum.al
