Macron and German Chancellor meet with Serbian and Kosovo Presidents in Summit; tensions rise amidst ethnic Albanian protests in Mitrovica

Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani on the sidelines of the summit. The head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, was also present at the meeting.

Osmani said after the meeting that her country was ready to hold new local elections in the crisis-stricken north if they were “initiated through a legal procedure”. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also called on both sides on Thursday to take immediate steps to ease tensions.

In the north of Kosovo, home to a strong Serbian minority, protests broke out last week in connection with the inauguration of four ethnic Albanian mayors. They were elected in the April elections, which the local Serbs boycotted.

The local police tried to allow the mayors to enter, which led to clashes with the demonstrators. During the violence, three dozen members of the international KFOR units and fifty protesting Serbs were injured. Members of KFOR continue to guard town halls in the north of the country.