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[1/5] FILE PHOTO-A drone picture shows where the former water line was more than one KM from the present line in Pretor, at Prespa Lake, North Macedonia September 6, 2023. The decline has continued over decades - the water at Lake Prespa, which is situated high in the mountains and is 5-million-years-old, is now more than 8 metres (8.74 yards) lower than the late 1970s. With a surface area of around 260 square kilometres, more than twice the size of Paris, more than two thirds of the lake belongs to North Macedonia and the rest to Greece and Albania. Any drop in water level can affect Lake Ohrid, a much larger lake just 10 km from Prespa and which draws around one third of its water from Prespa. "All (pesticides) go in the underground waters, in the lake, they go everywhere and are very dangerous for Prespa," said Mende Pandevski, harvesting plums close to the lake.

Persons: Vasilevski, Dragan Arsovski, Mende, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: NASA, The United Nations Development Program, Macedonian Geological Society, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Pretor, Prespa, North Macedonia, Greece, Albania, Macedonia, Lake, Paris, Ohrid, Skopje

[1/5] Tourists visit the redesigned pyramid that was formerly a museum built to honour late Communist dictator Enver Hoxha, in Tirana, Albania, August 18, 2023. REUTERS/Florion Goga Acquire Licensing RightsTIRANA, Aug 25 (Reuters) - A museum built in Albania in the 1980s to honour longtime Communist dictator Enver Hoxha is being transformed into a computer training centre for young people, removing a final vestige of the country's isolated and repressive past. The original architects, which included Hoxha's daughter Pranvera, designed the building in the shape of a pyramid glorifying the leader as an Egyptian-style pharaoh. The museum was finished in 1988, three years after Hoxha died and two years before reclusive Communist rule collapsed, giving way to democracy. "It was an architectural monument like no others," said Ilda Qazimllari, director of investments in the office of the Tirana mayor.

Persons: Enver Hoxha, Florion, Hoxha, Winy Maas, Pranvera, Leon Cika, Ilda Qazimllari, Fatos Bytyci, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Tourists, REUTERS, Rights, European Union, Thomson Locations: Tirana, Albania, Rights TIRANA, Dutch, Soviet, Europe, Balkan, Kosovo

☆ Albania battles coastal forest fires, arrests four
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

QEPARO, Albania, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Albanian police said they had arrested four people in the past 24 hours for causing fires as soldiers and firefighters were deployed in coastal tourist areas to fight spreading forest blazes. Many farmers in Albania set fire to cultivated fields to clear stubble, weeds and waste before sowing a new crop. In July Albania has identified and charged 14 people with starting wildfires. [1/5]A view of a burned area near Qeparo, Albania, August 19, 2023. Albania's ministry of defense said 95 fires were reported in the first two weeks of August.

Persons: Florion, Fatos Bytyci, Toby Chopra Organizations: Police, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: QEPARO, Albania, Qeparo, Elbasan

☆ Film festival brings the world to Kosovo
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Spectators watch a movie in an open-air cinema on a medieval fortress during Dokufest documentary and film festival in Prizren, Kosovo August 9, 2023. REUTERS/Fatos BytyciPRIZREN, Kosovo, Aug 11 (Reuters) - The medieval fortress overlooking the southern Kosovo town of Prizren is one of the striking venues for Dokufest, a film festival that has become one of the Balkan country's biggest cultural events. "In the absence of us not being able to travel abroad we brought the world here with people, films, possibilities, friendship." And with Kosovo only recognised by around 110 other countries, their passport is among the weakest in the world. "We do something so real and on the ground and genuine like I make a personal film about my mother.

Persons: Sinan Pasha, Dokufest, Veton Nurkollari, Jude Chehab, Chehab, Fatos Bytyci, Toby Chopra Organizations: REUTERS, Dokufest, Balkan, Thomson Locations: Prizren, Kosovo, Fatos, PRIZREN, Serbia, Colombia, Tanzania, Britain, Canada, United States, Lebanese, American

☆ In Kosovo, graffiti rejuvenates Pristina's concrete jungle
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Line Guillod, a graffiti artist paints a mural as part of the Meeting of Styles graffiti festival in Kosovo's capital Pristina, Kosovo July 28, 2023. REUTERS/Fatos BytyciPRISTINA, July 30 (Reuters) - Known as the capital of concrete, Pristina is trying to revitalize its dull and grey image with vivid graffiti on walls and buildings, helping transform public spaces into more inviting, vibrant areas. "When you see the concrete, it gives the impression that it is still under construction," said Agon Xhelili, organizer of the festival, Meeting of Styles Kosovo. Since its creation, it has organized more than 400 events such as the one in Pristina, helping thousands of artists all over the world. "I think it will be really positive (visually and for tourism) if they allowed more public art murals," said Sharon.

Persons: Agon Xhelili, Daniel Sharon, Sharon, Fatos, Bernadette Baum Organizations: REUTERS, Fatos Bytyci, Styles Kosovo, Thomson Locations: Kosovo's, Pristina, Kosovo, Fatos, Fatos Bytyci PRISTINA, Germany, London

☆ Ethnic Albanian party in North Macedonia offers deal to clear the way to join EU
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SARAJEVO, July 30 (Reuters) - The largest party representing North Macedonia's ethnic Albanian minority offered to pull its ministers from the government to meet a demand from the opposition to clear the way for European Union membership talks. Last year, North Macedonia's parliament passed a French-brokered deal aimed at settling a dispute with Bulgaria which had vetoed Macedonian-EU talks. read moreBulgaria lifted the veto on condition that North Macedonia amends its constitution to recognise a Bulgarian minority. The opposition protested against the deal, arguing that it should include a requirement that Bulgaria recognise the Macedonian language. North Macedonia has been a candidate for EU membership for 17 years but approval for talks was first blocked by Greece and then by Bulgaria.

Persons: DPMNE, Dimitar Kovacevski, Fatos Bytyci, Daria Sito, Peter Graff Organizations: European Union, Democratic Union for Integration, EU, Macedonian, Thomson Locations: SARAJEVO, North, Bulgarian, Bulgaria, Macedonia's, Macedonia, Macedonian, Greece

☆ Kosovo bridge divers overcome fear to 'fly' in annual competition
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Evald Krnic, a diver from Montenegro, jumps from a bridge during a competition on the White Drin River, near the town of Gjakova, Kosovo July 23, 2023. REUTERS/Fatos BytyciURA E FSHEJT, Kosovo, July 24 (Reuters) - With arms outstretched like bird's wings in the traditional "swallow style", Evald Krnic plunged more than 20 metres from a bridge in southern Kosovo into the cold White Drin river. "You don't just jump; you fly," he told Reuters after winning first place in the bridge-diving competition, an annual event held for the past 73 years and drawing both amateurs and professionals. "The beauty of this sport lies in conquering that fear and taking the leap." Krnic was also the winner last year in the Bosnian town of Mostar where he jumped 22 meters from an old bridge into the river below.

Persons: FSHEJT, Krnic, Fatos, Peter Graff Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Montenegro, Gjakova, Kosovo, Bosnian, Mostar

☆ Brown bears in Kosovo fight the heat with frozen fruit treats
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] A bear eats fruits that the workers have thrown at an animal's pool at the Bear Sanctuary in Pristina, Kosovo, July 18, 2023. REUTERS/Fatos BytyciPRISTINA, July 18 (Reuters) - Workers at a bear sanctuary in Kosovo have come up with creative ways to keep their twenty brown bears cool as temperatures near 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) this week. The bears' pools are regularly topped up with fresh water and their keepers hurl fruit and vegetables into the water to encourage the animals to swim. They also place frozen fruit and vegetables they dub "ice creams" up in the trees, where the bears find them in just a few seconds. "The temperatures are very high and their fur is very thick and it is not easy for them," said Taulant Hoxha, from the bear sanctuary.

Persons: Taulant Hoxha, Fatos Bytyci, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: REUTERS, Fatos Bytyci, Workers, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Pristina, Kosovo, Fatos, Fatos Bytyci PRISTINA

☆ Kosovo buys Turkish Bayraktar drones
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PRISTINA, July 16 (Reuters) - Kosovo has bought a batch of Turkish-made Bayraktar drones, its leader said on Sunday, at a time when it faces unrest in the north where ethnic Serbs refuse to recognise Pristina authorities. He did not give the number or cost of the drones, Kosovo's first, nor say what they would be used for. Bayraktar drones have gained popularity globally after being used by Ukraine's military against Russian forces. In past months, Kosovo has faced its worst ethnic violence in the north which is home to some 50,000 ethnic Serbs, who are backed by Belgrade. Kosovo aims to join NATO but four of the alliance's members still do not recognise its 2008 independence from Serbia.

Persons: Albin Kurti, Kurti, Aleksandar Vucic, Fatos Bytyci, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: Russian, NATO, Thomson Locations: PRISTINA, Kosovo, Pristina, Belgrade, Serbia, Serbian

☆ Kosovo moves to lower tensions in Serb majority area
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Violence in north Kosovo, where 50,000 Serbs live and form a majority, erupted in late May after Albanian mayors took office following an election boycotted by Serbs demanding implementation of a decade-old deal for more autonomy. NATO said 93 of its peacekeeping soldiers had been injured in clashes with Serb protesters, some of them severely, on May 29. Doctors in the north said 52 Serbs were also injured. The United States and European Union, Kosovo's main allies, have mainly blamed nationalist Prime Minister Albin Kurti for tensions in the north. Reporting by Fatos Bytyci; Editing by Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kosovo's, Albin Kurti, Fatos Bytyci, Stephen Coates Organizations: NATO, EU, European Union, Kosovo, Thomson Locations: PRISTINA, Kosovo, Serbs, United States, Pristina, Brussels

☆ EU wants concrete steps by Kosovo to ease tensions before lifting sanctions –envoy
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PRISTINA, July 4 (Reuters) - The European Union will not lift political and economic sanctions on Kosovo unless the government de-escalates tensions with ethnic Serbs, EU envoy Miroslav Lajcak said on Tuesday during a visit in Pristina. EU countries imposed punitive measures on ethnic Albanian-majority Kosovo after Prime Minister Albin Kurti's government failed to heed EU and U.S. requests to defuse strife in the country's north following the worst clashes in over a decade. "My wish is not to have sanctions," Lajcak told reporters in Pristina after a three-hour meeting with Kurti. Some 30 NATO peacekeeping soldiers defending three town halls in northern Kosovo were injured in clashes with Serb protesters, and 52 Serbs were hurt. Lajcak said the EU also wanted Serbia, which north Kosovo Serbs still devote their allegiance 15 years after Pristina declared independence from Belgrade, to act constructively to defuse the crisis, or face penalties as well.

Persons: Miroslav Lajcak, Albin Kurti's, Lajcak, Kurti, ”, Kosovo's, Fatos, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: European, EU, Kosovo, ”, NATO, Wednesday, European Union, Thomson Locations: PRISTINA, Kosovo, Serbs, Pristina, Brussels, Serbia, Kosovo Serbs, Belgrade, United States

TIRANA, July 3 (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Bill Clinton on Monday met 12 children and men from Kosovo who were named after him in gratitude for his role in stopping the 1998-99 Kosovo War. Clinton, who served as president from 1993 to 2001, is regarded as a hero in Kosovo and Albania for launching NATO air strikes against Serbia's forces in 1999. The strikes halted the war and allowed nearly 1 million Albanian refugees in Kosovo to return to their homes. Others who spoke at the ceremony included Klinton Gashi, Klinton Bajgora and Klinton Ferizi. Clinton also met three girls who were named after his wife, Hillary Clinton, who served as U.S. secretary of state under former President Barack Obama.

Persons: Bill Clinton, Clinton, Klinton Berisha, Klinton, Ferizi, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Hillary Alidema, Fatos Bytyci, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Former U.S, Monday, NATO, Goga, Thomson Locations: TIRANA, Former, Kosovo, Albania, Tirana, Balkans, Serbia, Washington

☆ Bill Clinton tells Kosovo: stop 'foolishness' in Serb-majority north
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Former U.S. president Bill Clinton delivers his speech during a welcoming in Tirana, Albania, July 3, 2023. REUTERS/Florion GogaTIRANA, July 3 (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, largely credited for ending the Kosovo war more than two decades ago, on Monday told Kosovo's government to stop its actions in the Serb majority north, where tension has flared over the past few months. But the real thing we need to do is to stop this foolishness," Clinton said during a ceremony in Tirana where he received a medal from Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama. The United States and the European Union, Kosovo's main allies, have mainly blamed Prime Minister Albin Kurti for igniting tension in the north by installing four mayors in their offices with police despite objections from local Serbs. In Belgrade, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said growing tensions between Belgrade and Pristina "cause great concern, as well as the increase in violence".

Persons: Bill Clinton, Kosovo's, Clinton, Albin Kurti, Mark Rutte, Aleksandar Vucic, Rutte, Fatos Bytyci, Aleksandar Vasovic, Sonali Paul Organizations: U.S, REUTERS, Former U.S, Monday, NATO, Albania's, Edi Rama, Kosovo, Serbia's, European Union, Dutch, EU, Thomson Locations: Tirana, Albania, Florion, TIRANA, Former, Kosovo, Pristina, Serbia, Serbian, Kosovo Albanian, United States, Belgrade, Europe, Ukraine, Florion Goga

☆ Serbia releases three detained Kosovo policemen, easing crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The European Union welcomed the move and urged Kosovo and Serbia to take further steps to defuse the simmering crisis, including holding new local elections in northern Kosovo. [1/5]One of the released Kosovan policemen (L) arrives at the Kosovo-Serbia border crossing, in Merdare, Kosovo June 26, 2023. The ruling effectively allowed the Serb authorities to maintain the charges while letting the three return to Kosovo, beyond the reach of the Serb court. Albanian-majority Kosovo, formerly a southern province of Serbia, declared independence from Belgrade in 2008 with the backing of the West following a 1998-99 war. Violence flared in four northern Kosovo municipalities late last month after ethnic Albanian mayors took office following a local election.

Persons: Josep Borrell, Albin Kurti, Kurti, Oliver Varhelyi, Aleksandar Vasovic, Fatos, Andrew Gray, Toby Chopra, Andrew Heavens, Alex Richardson Organizations: European Union, Prosecutors, REUTERS, Court, Kosovo's, Twitter, Thomson Locations: BELGRADE, Serbia, Kosovo, Luxembourg, United States, Merdare, Serbian, Kraljevo, Belgrade, Serbs, Brussels, Washington, EU, Pristina

☆ Serbia army chief urges NATO, international agencies to protect Kosovo Serbs
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BELGRADE/PRISTINA, June 23 (Reuters) - Serbia's army commander urged NATO peacekeepers and other international bodies on Friday to step up measures to protect minority Serbs in Kosovo, adding that "the international community is not fulfilling its obligations." Mojsilovic in a rare public address said he had asked NATO peacekeeping mission KFOR and other international bodies to undertake urgent measures to protect ethnic Serbs there. Earlier on Friday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he was "very alarmed" by the situation in northern Kosovo, citing "extrajudicial arrests" of Kosovo Serbs and the march by Kosovo Security Forces "followed by heavy rhetoric from Serbia". Ethnic Serbs, who make up the majority of the population in the region, had boycotted the vote. Ethnic Albanians make up more than 90% of the population in Kosovo, while the Serbs form the majority in four northern municipalities and several enclaves inside Kosovo.

Persons: Milan Mojsilovic, Mojsilovic, Xhelal Svecla, Svecla, Josep Borrell, Borrell, Albin Kurti, Aleksandar Vucic, Armend Mehaj, Aleksandar Vasovic, Fatos, Andrew Gray, Hugh Lawson, Mark Porter, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: NATO, European Union, KFOR, Belgrade, Kosovo Security Forces, Kosovo, Twitter, Kosovo Defence, Kosovo police, Serbian, Thomson Locations: BELGRADE, PRISTINA, Kosovo, Serbia, Mitrovica, Mojsilovic, Zvecan, Kosovo Serbs, Serbian, Brussels, Belgrade, Pristina, Yugoslavia, Montenegro

☆ No breakthrough as EU's Borrell holds crisis talks with Kosovo, Serbia leaders
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BRUSSELS, June 22 (Reuters) - EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell proposed steps to end weeks of violence in predominantly Serb areas of northern Kosovo to the leaders of Kosovo and Serbia on Thursday, but there were no signs of an immediate breakthrough. Tensions worsened after Serbian police arrested three Kosovo policeman last week, saying they crossed the border between the two countries. The top EU diplomat said he asked Kurti "to announce early elections, as soon as possible, in all four municipalities on condition of participation of Kosovo Serbs". "Here is the core of the problem and also the core of the solution - early elections, as soon as possible," Borrell told reporters after four hours of talks. Vucic said he was ready for more talks with EU mediators, adding that meeting Kurti in person "makes no sense".

Persons: Josep Borrell, Albin Kurti, Aleksandar Vucic, Borrell, Kurti, Borell, Vucic, Aleksandar Vasovic, Andrew Grey, Fatos, Alex Richardson Organizations: Kosovo, Kosovo police, EU, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Kosovo, Serbia, Pristina, Serbian, Brussels, Kosovo Serb, Kosovo Serbs, EU

☆ NATO ready to act to save Kosovo's peace, calls for de-escalation
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PRISTINA, June 19 (Reuters) - NATO forces in Kosovo are ready to face any situation if acts of violence similar to recent encounters threaten the peace, the NATO commander in Pristina said late on Monday. Some 30 NATO peacekeeping soldiers defending three town halls in northern Kosovo were injured in clashes with Serb protesters late on May. We do not react, we act," the commander of NATO troops, known as KFOR, Angelo Michele Ristuccia told to a group of journalists from his headquarters in the outskirts of Pristina. Kosovo says the three were arrested inside its territory by Serbian officers who had crossed the border. Some 50,000 Serbs who live in the north part refuse Pristina ruling and consider Belgrade as their capital.

Persons: Angelo Michele Ristuccia, Ristuccia, Albin Kurti, Kurti, Fatos Bytyci, Franklin Paul Organizations: NATO, KFOR, European Union, Franklin Paul Our, Thomson Locations: PRISTINA, Kosovo, Pristina, Serbs, Serbia, United States, Serbian, Belgrade

☆ Kosovo tightens controls on its border with Serbia, PM Kurti says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Trucks with goods queue at the Kosovo-Serbia border crossing in Merdare, Kosovo, June 15, 2023. REUTERS/Valdrin XhemajPRISTINA, June 15 (Reuters) - Kosovo has tightened controls on its border with Serbia following the arrest of three of its policemen by Serbian forces, Prime Minister Albin Kurti said on Thursday as he demanded the immediate release of the detainees. "Because of the security concerns as an immediate step border controls have been tightened with Serbia," Kurti told a press conference on Thursday. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, nearly a decade after an uprising by the 90% ethnic Albanian majority. Kosovo and Serbia share a 400-km (250-mile) border which has not been clearly marked or agreed.

Persons: Albin Kurti, Kurti, Serbia's, Aleksandar Vucic, Quint, Vucic, Fatos Bytyci, Ivana Sekularac, Alex Richardson Organizations: REUTERS, Valdrin Xhemaj, Serbian, Belgrade, Reuters, EU, European Union, NATO, Thomson Locations: Kosovo, Serbia, Merdare, Valdrin, Valdrin Xhemaj PRISTINA, Pristina, Serbian, United States, Italy, France, Germany, Britain, Balkans, Belgrade

[1/5] Kosovo police officers guard near the village of Bare, Kosovo, June 14, 2023. Three Kosovo police officers were detained by Serbian forces on Wednesday but officials from Kosovo and Serbia gave different locations for the arrest, accusing each other of crossing the border illegally.... Read morePRISTINA/BELGRADE, June 14 (Reuters) - Three Kosovo police officers were detained by Serbian forces on Wednesday but officials from Kosovo and Serbia gave different locations for the arrest, accusing each other of crossing the border illegally. "The entry of Serbian forces into the territory of Kosovo is aggression and aimed at escalation and destabilization," Kurti wrote on his Facebook page. But Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic said the three were arrested "as far as 1.8 kilometers (1 mile)" inside Serbian territory near the village of Gnjilica. In 1999, a NATO bombing campaign drove Serbian security forces out of Kosovo but Belgrade continues to regard it as a southern province.

Persons: Read, Albin Kurti, Kurti, Aleksandar Vucic, Vucic, Fatos Bytyci, Ivana Sekularac, Aleksandar Vasovic, Frank Jack Daniel, Jonathan Oatis, Angus MacSwan, William Maclean Organizations: Kosovo, Serbian, Reuters, NATO, Thomson Locations: Bare, Kosovo, Serbia, PRISTINA, BELGRADE, Serbian, Gnjilica, Balkans, Belgrade

☆ Kosovo PM presents plan to defuse tensions in Serb-majority area
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Around 200 Serbs gathered in North Mitrovica to protest against the arrest, with Kosovo Albanian police in anti-riot gear standing a few hundred metres away. During the operation to arrest Milun Milenkovic, three Kosovo Albanian policemen were lightly injured, Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla said on his Facebook page. Kurti said nothing about setting up the association of Serb municipalities which would ensure greater autonomy for the Serb majority area. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic urged Kosovo last week to grant more autonomy to Serbs before organising a new vote. NATO bombing drove out Serbian security forces but Belgrade continues to regard Kosovo only as its southern province.

Persons: Kurti, Milun Milenkovic, Xhelal Svecla, Albin Kurti, Quint, Aleksandar Vucic, Petar Petkovic, Milenkovic, Fatos, Ivana Sekularac, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: KFOR PRISTINA, Kosovo Albanian, NATO, KFOR, European Union, U.S, Serbia, Serbian, Thomson Locations: Kosovo, North Mitrovica, U.S, United States, Republic of Kosovo, Italy, France, Germany, Britain, EU, Serbian, Brussels, Serbia, Belgrade

☆ Exclusive: Kosovo president open to new elections in Serb-majority municipalities
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Kim Vinnell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary Describes Serbian president as 'drama king'Osmani says Serb voters in Kosovo could petition a new pollWants peacekeepers to remain in KosovoPRISTINA, Kosovo June 7 (Reuters) -Kosovo could trigger new elections in Serb-majority municipalities rocked by violent protests if 20% of voters sign a petition asking for them, the president told Reuters. In an exclusive interview in her office, President Vjosa Osmani said she believed a petition was the most "democratic way" to proceed to new elections. Violent protests erupted in four northern municipalities after Kosovo installed ethnic Albanian mayors who were elected into offices on a turnout of just 3.5%. As tensions between Serbia and Kosovo simmer, NATO has reinforced its peacekeeping forces in the north of the country. She described the Serbian president as "a drama king".

Persons: Osmani, Vjosa Osmani, Joe Biden, Albin Kurti, Aleksandar Vucic, Vucic, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz, Fatos Bytyci, Ivana Sekularac, Leela de Kretser, William Maclean Organizations: Reuters, Kosovo simmer, NATO, Kosovan, French, Thomson Locations: Kosovo, Kosovo PRISTINA, Kosovo's, Serbia, Belgrade, Serbian, Moldova, Pristina

The warnings came as U.S. and EU envoys concluded visits to Kosovo and Serbia to calm tensions that flared into violence last week, wounding dozens of NATO peace-keeping soldiers and Serb protesters in northern Kosovo. He and the EU's Miroslav Lajcak did not elaborate on what other consequences Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti's ethnic Albanian-dominated government might face if it did not accede to their demands. "I don't think that these things are resolved with pressure and by mentioning consequences and even sanctions," Kurti told reporters on Wednesday. "We have challenges with EU and U.S. envoys but our bilateral relations with the EU and U.S. are excellent." Lajcak said on Monday that the envoys presented proposals to Kurti to de-escalate the situation in northern Kosovo, adding they had a "long, honest, difficult discussion".

Persons: Balkans Gabriel Escobar, Escobar, Miroslav Lajcak, Albin Kurti's, Kurti, Lajcak, Vjosa Osmani, Peter Stano, Lajacak, Josep Borrell, Emelia Sithole Organizations: Kosovo’s, Kosovo PM, European Union, Kosovo, NATO, U.S, EU, United, Reuters, Washington, Europe, Thomson Locations: PRISTINA, BRUSSELS, United States, Kosovo, Serbia, Balkans, Belgrade, U.S, EU

Violence flared on Monday after Kosovo authorities, backed by special police units, installed ethnic Albanian mayors in offices in northern municipalities. Speaking after the meeting with Vucic, Osmani accused the Serbian leader of "whining and complaining and ... not telling the truth". But she said Kosovo could hold new elections in the north with Serb participation if they were triggered legally. Earlier in the day, neither leader had expressed any desire to meet with the other, before relenting under international pressure. Vucic said Kosovo authorities should withdraw "alleged mayors" from the north and declared the Kosovo special police units were there illegally.

Persons: Vjosa, Aleksandar Vucic, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz, Vucic, Osmani, Macron, Scholz, Mimi, Vladislav Culiomza Macron, Albin Kurti, Jens Stoltenberg, Fatos Bytyci, Ivana Sekularac, Sabine Siebold, Tassilo Hummel, Daria Sito, Edmund Blair, Daniel Wallis Organizations: EU, Kosovo, NATO, Political, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: BULBOACA, Moldova, Kosovo, Serbia, France, Germany, United States, Serbian, Belgrade, Paris, Berlin, Bulboaca, Oslo

[1/2] An Italian member of the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) looks on while standing guard in Leposavic, Kosovo, June 1, 2023. REUTERS/Ognen TeofilovskiBULBOACA, Moldova, June 1 (Reuters) - The presidents of Serbia and Kosovo insisted on Thursday they want to defuse a violent crisis in northern Kosovo but showed little sign of backing down from their opposing positions. Violence flared on Monday after Kosovo authorities, backed by special police units, installed ethnic Albanian mayors in offices in northern municipalities. But he said Kosovo authorities should withdraw "alleged mayors" from the north and declared the Kosovo special police units were there illegally. Vucic said he did not even know who was coming to the summit from Kosovo.

Persons: Serbia's Aleksandar Vucic, Vjosa Osmani, Osmani, Vucic, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz, Albin Kurti, Macron, Scholz, Jens Stoltenberg, Andrew Gray, Fatos Bytyci, Ivana Sekularac, Sabine Siebold, John Irish, Daria Sito, Edmund Blair Organizations: NATO, Kosovo Force, REUTERS, Kosovo, European, Political, Thomson Locations: Italian, Leposavic, Kosovo, BULBOACA, Moldova, Serbia, Belgrade, Moldovan, European Union, United States, Oslo

☆ NATO-led troops guard town hall in northern Kosovo
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/6] U.S. Kosovo Force (KFOR) soldiers, under NATO, stand guard near a municipal office in Leposavic, Kosovo May 31, 2023. Following clashes on Monday in Zvecan, another northern town, during which 30 NATO troops and 52 ethnic Serbian protesters were hurt, NATO said it would send 700 more troops to Kosovo to boost its 4,000-strong mission. Those ethnic Albanian mayors were then installed last week, a decision that spurred rebuke of Pristina by the U.S. and its allies on Friday. The ethnic Albanian mayor of Leposavic, another northern Kosovo town, remained in the municipal building on Wednesday after entering it amid Serb demonstrations on Monday. Peacekeeping troops were deployed in Kosovo in 1999 after NATO bombing drove Serbia's police and army out of its former province.

Persons: couldn't, Dragan, –, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, Olaf Scholz, Albin Kurti, Novak Djokovic, Djokovic, Jeton Hadergjonaj, Aleksandar Vucic, Fatos Bytici, Ivana Sekularac, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Kosovo Force, KFOR, NATO, REUTERS, Serbian, U.S, Reuters, United, Wednesday, Belgrade, Kosovo Olympic, International Olympic Committee, Kosovo Albanian, Thomson Locations: U.S, Leposavic, Kosovo, LEPOSAVIC, Zvecan, Serbian, Pristina, KOSOVO, United States, Serbia, Bratislava, Northern, Belgrade, EU

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