Escobar: De-escalate, organize elections with Serbs

He told a news conference in Belgrade that the Albanian mayors elected in recent local elections which the Serbs boycotted should leave the municipal administration buildings with the Kosovo Police and protesters leaving the area around them. According to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said he would use his influence to convince the Serbs to take part in the elections. He expressed the hope that the elections would be held before July.

He said the biggest challenge facing Serbia is convincing the Kosovo Serbs to return to institutions.
Escobar denied claims that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti was given 2 days to respond to demands set by himself and European Union Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak, saying that no deadline was set. He said that he has to report on progress on Friday and that Lajcak has to report to EU High Representative Josep Borrell.

The US envoy said that the EU and US said clearly that the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue to normalize relations is a European process and warned that ignoring the process serious consequences.

Escobar voiced hope that the Kosovo government will realize that the goal is to achieve a result beneficial to both sides. He warned that Kosovo will face a step backwards in relations with the trans-Atlantic community unless it cooperates in efforts to achieve regional stability.

He said that the Kosovo government has a legal obligation to form the Community of Serb Municipalities (CSM) as part of the Brussels and Ohrid Agreements. It’s not an agreement between Kurti and Serbia but between Kosovo and Serbia, Escobar said and added that the question is whether this government of Kosovo will form the CSM or some future government.