Serb town mayor, KFOR fail to reach agreement

A meeting between Zubin Potok Mayor Slavisa Ristic and KFOR commander in the village of Jagnjenica Lt Col Franz Pirker ended without a final solution on Friday. However, it was agreed to continue to look for peaceful solutions and to continue negotiations in order to solve the crisis in the village of Jagnjenica. Serb town mayor, KFOR fail to reach agreement The meeting started at 10:00 CET and lasted for an hour and a half. It was expected that a solution to the crisis in the village of Jagnjenica, where KFOR troops and local Serbs clashed on Monday, would be proposed at the meeting. Ristic told reporters after the meeting that KFOR had promised him that there would be no violent actions in the next several days and that they would try to find a solution. “We talked about proposals for unblocking of the Zvecan-Zubin Potok road at an intersection in Jagnjenica. KFOR wants to free the road and build a checkpoint for selective control of vehicles in search for weapons. We have nothing against such a proposal but we do not accept a checkpoint on that spot at the intersection in Jagnjenica,” he explained. According to the proposal, KFOR would not control buses, ambulances etc., the Zubin Potok mayor stressed. According to him, it was agreed to present new proposals regarding KFOR and Serbs’ presence in the village of Jagnjenica as soon as possible. “In the next two or three days we will try to find some solution. The essence of the agreement is to try to get to a peaceful solution and to avoid every potential challenge of having clashes between soldiers and the people,” Ristic noted. He added that it all depended on KFOR “that needs to realize that nothing can be done with force”. “The people in northern Kosovo are staying at the barricades just like in the past months. Not only because of KFOR’s latest action in Jagnjenica but in order to prevent setting up of the so-called Kosovo institutions in the north of the province,” Ristic added. The situation in northern Kosovo is peaceful today. The Serbs are keeping watch at the barricades and they claim they will stay there. Serbian President Boris Tadic on Tuesday called on Serbs to remove the barricades and on KFOR to stop their attempts to remove them. (Tanjug, file)

Serb town mayor, KFOR fail to reach agreement

The meeting started at 10:00 CET and lasted for an hour and a half.

It was expected that a solution to the crisis in the village of Jagnjenica, where KFOR troops and local Serbs clashed on Monday, would be proposed at the meeting.

Ristić told reporters after the meeting that KFOR had promised him that there would be no violent actions in the next several days and that they would try to find a solution.

“We talked about proposals for unblocking of the Zvečan-Zubin Potok road at an intersection in Jagnjenica. KFOR wants to free the road and build a checkpoint for selective control of vehicles in search for weapons. We have nothing against such a proposal but we do not accept a checkpoint on that spot at the intersection in Jagnjenica,” he explained.

According to the proposal, KFOR would not control buses, ambulances etc., the Zubin Potok mayor stressed.

According to him, it was agreed to present new proposals regarding KFOR and Serbs’ presence in the village of Jagnjenica as soon as possible.

“In the next two or three days we will try to find some solution. The essence of the agreement is to try to get to a peaceful solution and to avoid every potential challenge of having clashes between soldiers and the people,” Ristić noted.

He added that it all depended on KFOR “that needs to realize that nothing can be done with force”.

“The people in northern Kosovo are staying at the barricades just like in the past months. Not only because of KFOR’s latest action in Jagnjenica but in order to prevent setting up of the so-called Kosovo institutions in the north of the province,” Ristić added.

The situation in northern Kosovo is peaceful today. The Serbs are keeping watch at the barricades and they claim they will stay there.

Serbian President Boris Tadić on Tuesday called on Serbs to remove the barricades and on KFOR to stop their attempts to remove them.