Chancellor Karl Nehammer is now involved in the newly flared Kosovo conflict. He especially wants to appeal to the conscience of his Serbian colleague Aleksandar Vucic. Meanwhile, protests in Kosovo continue.
Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) meets with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on the sidelines of the European Political Community Summit to discuss the tense situation in Kosovo. Serbia has great influence and is playing a major role in de-escalating the situation, Nehammer said before the meeting at Mimi Castle, southeast of Chisinau. “It also needs Kosovo,” Nehammer continued.
“It is important that the violence stops immediately,” the chancellor said. In addition, it is a matter of taking steps that do not allow violence in the first place. In northern Kosovo, Serbs continued their protests against the appointment of new mayors on Thursday.
The situation escalated on Monday
On Monday, there were serious clashes in Zvecan between Serbs and soldiers of the NATO-led security force KFOR, which protects the offices. There were 80 wounded, including 30 soldiers.
Almost exclusively Serbs live in the region, in the rest of the country almost exclusively Albanians. Kosovo declared independence in 2008. Serbia does not recognize this and demands the return of its former province. The protests flared after the election of new mayors – Albanian-born politicians who prevailed in by-elections that Serbs boycotted at the behest of the government in Belgrade (see video above).
Deadline stress for Nehammer
In the margins of the summit, Nehammer will meet Bulgarian President Rumen Radew and Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, among others. It deals with several topics, Nehammer said. Portugal has a high level of competence when it comes to Africa. Nehammer wants to raise the migration issue at the summit’s round of security discussions. Since the end of last year, Austria has maintained a veto against the extension of Schengen to Bulgaria and Romania.
Nehammer also had a bilateral meeting with the host of the summit, Moldovan President Maia Sandu. Moldova, which, like Ukraine, has had the official status of EU candidate country since 2022, aims to join the EU in 2030.
Austria’s energy supply is also on the agenda
The main topic of the summit is the war in Ukraine, but it is also about security of energy supply, which is the top priority for Austria, Nehammer said. The gas storage tanks are 75 percent full. OMV is preparing for new gas volumes to continue replacing Russian gas. It is important to “keep your nerve”, Austria is on the right track, Nehammer explained.
Source: Krone
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