ZAGREB, March 30, 2018 – Croatia calls for calming tensions and avoiding an inflammatory rhetoric between Serbia and Kosovo, and for continuing dialogue, the Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Ministry said in response to a query from Hina on Friday.
“It is up to Serbia and Kosovo to continue their dialogue and work responsibly, in good faith and with the mediation of the EU, on normalising their relations, thus showing that they can cooperate in the European spirit,” the ministry said when asked about the situation in Kosovo.
Kosovo authorities on Monday arrested the head of the Serbian government’s Office for Kosovo Marko Đurić and expelled him from Kosovo. After that, the Serb List, which is supported by the government in Belgrade, decided to leave the Kosovo government and withhold its support of Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, announcing that in early April it would start forming an association of Serb municipalities in the north of Kosovo.
The incident prompted the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini to visit Belgrade. After talks with President Aleksandar Vučić, she said that such incidents must not happen again.
Vučić told Mogherini that maintaining peace and stability was in Serbia’s interest and that this was possible only if the safety of Kosovo Serbs was not jeopardised.
“Croatia supports the efforts by EU High Representative Federica Mogherini to have the dialogue continue. Any other option, including attempts to unilaterally involve third countries, does not contribute to finding the right solution,” the Croatian ministry said.
It noted that readiness to resume dialogue, indicated by the latest reports, was encouraging and reiterated that for Serbia and Kosovo, as well as for the entire region, preserving peace and stability was an absolute priority.
