In the 430th program Slobodno srpski, the ambassador of France in Kosovo, Olivier Guerot, was a guest. In an interview with Budimir Ničić, he called on the authorities in Pristina to calm tensions in Kosovo and de-escalate the situation.
„In this case, there is significant responsibility of the Government of Kosovo for the latest events and incidents.“ We believe in positive solutions, so what we expect from the Government of Kosovo is to take measures to de-escalate the situation. We, in fact, expect Serbia to take all necessary measures to avoid violence, to avoid tension, to also de-escalate the situation,“ said Ambassador Guerot in an interview for the program „Slobodno Srpski“, which was broadcasted on Sunday, June 4, 2023.
In this situation, the elected mayors in the north of Kosovo cannot act, as he says, as if they were elected normally, so several steps should be taken to avoid unnecessary measures.
„We do not think that the mayors should enter those buildings by force, and if they cannot enter by force, then they should continue working in other rooms to avoid an unnecessary „boiling point“, an unnecessary source of tension. We have said that clearly and I think that the Government of Kosovo knows very well what we expect from them,“ says Guerot.
The French-German plan remains
The latest incidents in the north of Kosovo did not threaten the implementation of the agreement on the normalization of relations between Pristina and Belgrade confirmed in Ohrid, which is based on the Franco-German plan.
„That plan is absolutely still valid.“ This is the path that should be followed, so from this place I would call on all parties, Kosovo, Serbia, to continue the talks, to continue working on things that should be respected. When it comes to the Government of Kosovo, there is a clear commitment to the formation of the Association of Serbian Majority Municipalities, so we expect them to concretely work on it,“ said the French ambassador in Pristina and emphasized that there will be consequences if the Ohrid agreement is not followed.
Guerot confirmed France’s commitment to the European future of Kosovo and the expectation that Pristina will show initiative in establishing an Association/Community of municipalities with a Serbian majority population.
„We don’t want Kosovo to be a dysfunctional state, of course not, because we see Kosovo’s future within the European Union, so we want a functional Kosovo.“ Now, the best way for the Government of Kosovo to avoid something that would be dysfunctional is to make a proposal,“ said the French ambassador in Pristina, Olivier Guerot, as a guest on the show „Slobodno Srpski“, produced by the Čaglavica Media Center, which is broadcast on the television network in the Serbian language in Kosovo.
