Zecevic: Lajcak's fear justified, Kurti formed a community of Albanian municipalities instead of the CSM

Slobodan Zecevic from the Institute for European Studies stated today that Miroslav Lajcak's fear of an escalation of conflicts in Kosovo is justified due to the actions taken by Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and the government in Pristina, which led to an escalation of conflicts with the Serbian population in northern Kosovo, RTV reports.

"The actions that have been carried out, such as land expropriation for the construction of police bases, an attempt to open a bridge between the Albanian and Serbian sides in North Mitrovica, and arrests, are happening continuously," Zecevic said for Tanjug.

He believes that the EU has not reacted sufficiently to all the events in Kosovo as expected because the fundamental value of the EU is to respect the agreements and treaties that have been reached, and as the guarantor of these agreements, the EU should enforce them by drawing the attention of Pristina and threatening sanctions if the terms agreed upon in Brussels are not implemented.

Zecevic notes that although Kurti claims to be ready for the full implementation of what was agreed upon in Brussels and Ohrid, it is not evident in practice as the CSM has not been implemented for over a decade.

"Words are one thing and actions are another. They talk about what they are willing to do, but we have seen what they are willing to do. Instead of the CSM, they have formed a community of Albanian municipalities. Three percent of the population elected Albanian mayors who are under Albin Kurti's control. Therefore, the community of Albanian municipalities in northern Kosovo is directly commanded from Albin Kurti's office," Zecevic concluded.

Regarding the opening of the bridge over the Ibar River, Zecevic says it is not the right time for it because the Serbian population has no trust in it and believes that such an opening would lead to new conflicts between Albanians and Serbs.