Quint governments disappointed with Pristina’s decision on elections

The governments of France, Germany, Italy, Great Britain and the United States said that they engaged intensively with the governments of Serbia and Kosovo to find a pragmatic solution which would allow eligible citizens of Kosovo to take part in the April 3 elections in Serbia.

“We acknowledge that it is the Kosovo Government’s prerogative to decide whether or not to permit facilitation of voting in another country’s elections. While we appreciate Serbia’s availability to find a solution, it is with great disappointment that we take note of Kosovo Government’s decision to reject a constructive proposal presented by the Quint. With this decision, Kosovo’s Government failed to demonstrate its commitment to the principle of protecting the civil and political rights of all its citizens, including of members of minority groups,” the joint statement said and added that the Kosovo government’s “attitude is not in line with our values and principles and will undermine its European aspirations”.

“Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we welcomed Kosovo’s alignment with the statements and declarations EU and the Quint members adopted. However, Kosovo is also expected to uphold its core values and responsibility towards regional stability and respect democratic processes, as well as to commit to protection of the rights of members of minority groups.”

“We expect the Kosovo Government to act in the interests of all its citizens, to work to decrease tensions and to engage constructively in the EU-facilitated Dialogue on normalization of relations with Serbia. This is crucial to achieve progress towards a comprehensive normalization agreement that will ultimately unlock the EU perspective of Kosovo,” it said.

The statement called Kosovo and Serbia to refrain from any actions and statement that could raise tensions and cause incidents.