Osmani about the bridge: We have no reason to have conflicts with our allies

 

The President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, said on Thursday that Kosovo must ensure that the bridge in the north is opened in a way that does not provoke conflict with the country's allies, nor the increased presence of the NATO mission in Kosovo, KFOR.

Speaking to the media after a meeting with the mayor of Vitia Municipality, Sokol Haliti, Osmani, however, said that Kosovo should not discuss the issue of the bridge with Serbia in Brussels.

"The bridge must be opened, but we must make sure that when it is opened it is always open, and not that when it is opened it encourages a much greater NATO presence on it. Is it in the interest of Kosovo that we see a conflict between the Kosovo Police and the American soldier? I do not believe that there are Albanians who agree with this. We have no reason to have a conflict with our allies, they have saved us", she said.

The government of Prime Minister Albin Kurti has insisted on opening the bridge for vehicle traffic, which divides Mitrovica in the south with an Albanian majority and in the north with a Serbian majority, despite the constant opposition from the international community and from the local Serbs.

The bridge is currently only open for pedestrians, although in the framework of the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, it has been agreed that it should also be opened for vehicle traffic.

The American ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, said in an interview for Radio Free Europe on Tuesday that there is a real risk that the opening of the bridge in Mitrovica at this time could affect the safety of NATO soldiers, including American ones.

"We believe this risk increases the threat, the possibility of violence and other problems, both for the local community and for NATO soldiers, including American soldiers who are working to ensure peace and security in Kosovo," said Hovenier.

On Wednesday, the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, said that he will continue consultations with international partners for the opening of this bridge, but again that its opening "is not against anyone".

This statement is welcome to those connoisseurs of political affairs.

Osmani said that the US request to coordinate regarding the opening of the bridge should not be seen as something negative.

"I am asking our citizens not to take the request of the United States to sit down and talk with them either as an imposition or against Kosovo, and even less against the opening of the bridge, because this would be a logic against itself Kosovo. If we use the same tactics against our friend, as against Serbia, it is truly unforgivable.

The QUINT countries, the USA, Britain, France, Germany and Italy, have called the Kurti Government's decision to open the bridge at this time unilateral.

The EU has called for the bridge issue to be discussed in dialogue with Serbia.

In the framework of the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, the parties have agreed to open the bridge for traffic, but this has never been realized in practice. Only one side of it is open for pedestrians.

Osmani said that Kosovo should not ask Serbia about the opening of the bridge within the territory of Kosovo, and it should not be accepted to discuss this issue in the Brussels dialogue.

According to her, the EU's latest statements on this topic are "racist" and should be fully coordinated with the United States in this regard.

"As for the European Union, the statements of its officials are racist, I don't believe they deserve attention from my side. I oppose in every way the discussion of the opening of the bridge in Brussels. We have nothing to ask Serbia," she said.

On Wednesday, the European Union envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, said that suggestions that the EU is against the opening of the main bridge over the Iber River, or that it has changed its position on the subject, are misleading.

"Making a decision against the will of the affected people does not contribute to the normalization of relations. Good governance understands the sensitivity of minorities", said Lajçak, warning that the issue of implementing the agreement on the bridge will be discussed at the next meeting in Brussels, but without mentioning any date.

This bridge - which separates the Albanian-majority South Mitrovica from the Serb-majority North Mitrovica - is open to pedestrians, but not to cars.

The NATO mission in Kosovo, KFOR, has warned that it will not hesitate to act to respond to security-related developments.

Italian KFOR soldiers are on the bridge over the Iber River, which separates the Albanians in the south and the Serbs in the north. Members of the Kosovo Police are located near it as well.

The Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, at the same time Kosovo's chief negotiator for the dialogue in Brussels, Besnik Bislimi, said on Wednesday that the issue of opening the bridge over the Iber is neither "a unilateral decision" by the Government, nor "an unresolved issue of the dialogue".

The Director of the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia, Petar Petkovic, claimed on Wednesday that Kurti and Bislimi "only want new conflicts" and that they are not interested in an agreement./ REL