Lajcak: Three demands for Kurti

Lajcak: Three demands for Kurti

The EU special envoy for dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, Miroslav Lajčak, said tonight that he and the US special envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, asked the prime minister of the temporary institutions of Pristina, Albin Kurti, to calm down the situation in northern Kosovo, hold new elections and return to dialogue.

Lajcak, after the meeting that lasted for about two hours, said that no agreement was reached with Kurti on holding elections in the north of Kosovo and Metohija.

He specified that, together with Escobar, he presented Kurti with a proposal from the international community of three main points - de-escalation of the situation in the north of Kosovo and Metohija, quick holding of new elections and a return to dialogue.

"If we had reached an agreement (on the elections), I would have said that," Lajcak said, according to Reporters.

He assessed that the meeting with Kurti was "long, straightforward and difficult".

Lajcak said that the new Albanian mayors in the municipalities in the north of Kosovo and Metohija were elected legally, but that they have no legitimacy.

"Legality does not mean representation and legitimacy, and that is the problem we have in the north. Therefore, it is in the interest of Kosovo, in the interest of everyone, that we have mayors who have legality, but also legitimacy," said Lajcak.

Escobar said that he hopes that their requests will be heard, and when asked if Kurti accepted the proposals they presented, he replied that "they are at the beginning of the mission."

He added that the US respects the authority of the Pristina government and its constitution, but pointed out that respecting the law is "something else" and that it is trying to find a "formula for harmony among ethnic groups".

"I have never seen so much unity in the transatlantic community. The USA, the EU, NATO and almost all of Kosovo's friends had the same demands. We hope that we will be heard," said Escobar.

He strongly condemned the attack on KFOR members and said that the perpetrators should be held accountable.