Kurti: Elections in the north must be held, CSM will not be formed

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said that the Pristina authorities would not allow a vacuum in the north of Kosovo and that the elections in four municipalities must be held. He also rejected the possibility of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities formation, Tanjug reports.

In a statement to the Austrian agency APA, Kurti said that the vacant positions in the north of Kosovo and Metohija, after the withdrawal of the Serbs from the Kosovo institutions, must be filled quickly and that we cannot wait for the return of the Serbs.

"We will have to organize new elections for the positions of four mayors in the north of Kosovo", he said and added that as for the 10 deputies of the Serbian List, their positions should be filled by others.

"If they won't, we will have to continue with other partners", Kurti said.

He also says that police officers should be replaced as quickly as possible, because, he adds, it is necessary to ensure the rule of law and safety for everyone.

Kurti claims that only "an extremist minority among Serbs" is behind the protests in the North, while the vast majority of 90 percent of Kosovo Serbs have changed their license plates and that so far there has not been a single incident or complaint against the 1,500 warnings issued to car owners with the Serbian license plates.

As far as the CSM long sought by the USA and the EU is concerned, Kurti rejects the possibility of its formation, as APA reports.

"Last year I came to power and my predecessors signed that document, with the same people who are still in power in Serbia today. Why didn't they form it then", he asked.

CSM is not in accordance with our Constitution, he added, because as he says, the basis of Kosovo's constitution is the multi-ethnicity of the state, with claims that the demands for such autonomy do not come from the majority Serb population in Kosovo, but only from Belgrade in order to compensate for the losses it suffered during the war. during the time of Slobodan Milosevic.

"But it is not enforceable", he said.

Kurti expressed his belief that in the next two years there would be a final agreement with Belgrade on the full normalization of relations.

"I am very optimistic because with the US President Joe Biden in Washington and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin, there is a good chance to reach an agreement", Kurti said.