Hovenier: Situation in the North of Kosovo Deeply Disturbing

Pristina (BETAPHOTO/ANDRIJA IGIC)

The U.S. ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, said after a meeting with Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani that the situation in Kosovo was “deeply disturbing”, adding that it’s important not to access municipal buildings in the north by force, and equally so to de-escalate the situation.

The U.S. diplomat said that he was not familiar with the reasons why the Self-Determination party’s mayors of North Mitrovica and Leposavic didn’t attend the meeting to which he had invited them.

“My colleague, Ambassador (of the EU to Kosovo) Tomas Szunyog and I invited the mayors of northern municipalities to a meeting. The municipal chiefs of Zvecan and Zubin Potok attended. We discussed the disturbing situation. I don’t know why the other mayors didn’t come, and I can only say that the invitations had been sent to them, too,” Hovenier said.

The ambassador also said that the United States and the Quint states underlined that it’s important that “officers should access state institutions without the use of force.” “It remains our position. We have also discussed with the mayors how they can perform their duties and serve the citizens, particularly with no need to access the institutions by force,” Hovenier said.