In Tirana, Prime Minister Edi Rama declared today that the format of the normalization dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, where the European Union is represented by its head of diplomacy Josep Borrel, and the envoy for the dialogue Miroslav Lajçak, has nothing more to offer. “At least the current format of Brussels, where two men “come and go” from here and two men “enter and leave” there, has nothing to offer peace in this new situation. I believe this is at least clear,” he said during a special press conference on the situation created in Kosovo.
Prime Minister Rama repeated the idea of ”a conference for normalization with the Franco-German plan as a guide to the table of continuous negotiations. While the representation of the EU and the Euro-Atlantic community in the dialogue had to be raised at the highest level with France and Germany in the conference at the level of the President and the Chancellor, as co-authors of this plan”.
Mr. Rama said that something like this should be done without delay, expressing concern about the risk of escalating the situation to an armed conflict. “Exactly in order to prevent in any way and by any means this conflict, which today seems more likely than ever before, until yesterday, KFOR must take control of the north of Kosovo”, he said, adding that “every hesitation and any delay, up to and including the argument of the last few hours, we don’t have, no we don’t have enough troops, can make tomorrow’s intervention by KFOR much bigger in terms of troops, but also in difficulties”.
A few months ago, he himself considered such a version a formal loss of control over the entire territory by the Kosovo authorities. In a post on social networks on June 19, while stressing the need to de-escalate the situation in the North of Kosovo, he emphasized that “Be very afraid that the more Albini insists on his own against the allies, the more the situation can worsen, put KFOR back to work! And then goodbye for who knows how long to the formal control of the state over the entire territory and let’s enjoy a Republic of KFOR in the North of Kosovo!”.
Asked by journalists about this contradictory attitude, Mr. Rama said that “We are not there yet, but we can go there”, without giving further explanations.
The Albanian Prime Minister stated that Kosovo also requested KFOR in the north, but in fact, there was no such request from Prishtina, except for KFOR to increase surveillance and control of the border. His statement even provoked the first reactions. Dejona Mihali, a member of the leadership of the Vetvendosja party of Prime Minister Albin Kurti, wrote on Facebook that “Kosovo has never asked for KFOR to take control in the north. Nor will he do it. Only Serbia demands this”.
Two days ago, after a meeting with the ambassadors of the five main Western countries, the United States, Britain, France, Italy and Germany, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic wrote on social networks that he asked the diplomats that “KFOR take care of all security issues in the north of Kosovo instead of (Albin) Kurt’s police”.
But before that, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, condemning the attack by Serbian armed groups on Kosovo police units, said that “the Kosovo police have full responsibility to ensure the implementation of the law in the Republic of Kosovo”.