BELGRADE / PRISTINA – Following repeated EU’s announcements of a “high-level” meeting in Brussels, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić confirmed their attendance.
Kurti wrote on Twitter that he will travel to Brussels from Rome on Thursday.
“Set my itinerary to go to Brussels from Rome tomorrow, confirming my participation in the high-level meeting convened by High Representative Borrell”, Kurti said. He added that he will insist on the urgent unconditional release of three Kosovo policemen “held hostage by Serbia”, de-escalation and normalization of relations.
On the other hand, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said on Thursday that he would go to Brussels to talk with Josep Borrell, but not with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti.
“Talking to him makes no sense. He lectures us on philosophy, on Marx and that’s all. Everything else is about the persecution of Serbs and lectures on internal political issues in central Serbia,” Vučić said.
According to the Serbian President, “things are much more serious and the country is in a difficult situation and under great pressure”. “Just look at (US Assistant Deputy State Secretary Gabriel) Escobar’s statements to see the position Serbia is in,” he said.
Borrell invited Vucic and Kurti to Brussels for a crisis meeting to try to resolve the situation in the north of Kosovo following the Serb protests against the newly-elected ethnic Albanian mayors of Serb-majority municipalities in the north. The new mayors were escorted to their offices by Kosovo Police special units, provoking a violent reaction from the Serbs.