Vucic, phone call with Macron about the situation in Kosovo

2023-07-08 18:40:40, Kosova & Bota CNA

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic spoke on the phone with French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday, asking him to "make additional efforts for the Prishtina side to come to its senses and return to the framework of concrete talks".

"As always, an open and serious conversation with President Emmanuel Macron, to whom I presented the consequences of the dangerous development of the situation in Kosovo", wrote Vucic on his Instagram account.

Vu?i? emphasized that Serbia remains committed to dialogue and maintaining peace, even though, as he said, "the Serbian community in Kosovo is the only ethnic group in Europe that is exposed to constant violence."

"I asked President Macron to make an extra effort so that the Prishtina side comes to its senses and returns as soon as possible to the framework of concrete talks," wrote Vucic.

He added that he thanked Macron for his willingness to listen to Belgrade, as well as for his determination to make additional efforts to "resolve the extremely complex and above all dangerous situation in Kosovo and Metohija".

Vucic announced on Instagram that on July 8 he spoke on the phone with the head of Italian diplomacy, Antonio Tajani.

He assessed the conversation as "constructive".

"He (Tajani) demanded that Serbia do everything to maintain stability in the region and emphasized that Italy is always ready to support peace," Vucic wrote on his Instagram account.

Vucic also said that during the conversation he thanked for the "interest and understanding" that Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Tajani have for Serbia's positions.

The European Union (EU) and the United States of America (USA) are making additional efforts to bring the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo back to the negotiating table, in order to de-escalate the situation in the north of Kosovo.

Last week, the special envoy of the European Union (EU) for the dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo, Miroslav Lajcak, was in Belgrade and Pristina.

He talked with the president of Serbia, Aleksandër Vucic, and the prime minister of Kosovo, Albin (Albin) Kurti.

Tensions in the north of Kosovo, where the majority of Serbs live, began when the new Albanian mayors of the municipalities of Zveçan, Zubin Potok and Leposaviç entered the municipal buildings with the assistance of the Kosovo police.

The local Serbs opposed this and since then have held protests, demanding the withdrawal of new mayors of municipalities and special units of the Kosovo police./ REL