Nastic: Kurti's conditions for the formation of the CSM represent a new escalation

With the new conditions for the formation of the previously agreed Community of Serb-majority Municipalities, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti raised the level of escalation and postponed the negotiation process with Serbia, Zaklin Nastic, head of the "Left" (Die Linke) pointed out today in the Defense Committee of the German Bundestag and requested the official Berlin and EU to increase pressure on the authorities in Pristina.

"With the Brussels agreement, Pristina, among other things, committed itself to the establishment of the CSM. The agreement, which consists of 15 items, foresees that four municipalities in the north of Kosovo, in which the population is almost exclusively Serbian, form a community, in order to receive basic rights and competencies regarding the police, judiciary, education, health, and culture. Until now, the government in Pristina is against implementing the agreement signed in 2013," she emphasized.

The German MP pointed out that Kurti's new announcement that he would implement the CSM only if there was recognition from Belgrade represented a further escalation and showed how unreliable the government in Pristina was in the negotiation process regarding the Franco-German plan.

The German government and the EU, she believes, should not allow Kurti to pull their nose further and should increase the pressure on the government in Pristina.

Regarding the protection of international law, especially in these times, it is important not to forget that Kosovo was separated from the former Yugoslavia in a war of aggression contrary to international law.

"That is why escalation and threatening gestures mustn't damage the interests of the attacked state of Serbia again. Instead, actions of mediation and de-escalation must be undertaken," Nastic said.