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Profit Gas
- 2 January 2025 19:20
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Without Milan Radojciqi, whom Serbia continues to shelter, the situation in the north continues to be tense and the Government of Kosovo was blamed for this because of the decisions related to this part. The developments around the central Ibri bridge in Mitrovica brought back security concerns. This decision provoked protests by local Serbs who considered this step a threat to their security. After international opposition, the government backed away from the proposal to open the bridge in 2024.
The theme of the symbol of the division of the city of Mitrovica, the central bridge over the river Ibër, was brought back this year by Prime Minister Albin Kurti.
After he announced in June 2024 that the time has come for the bridge to be opened for vehicle traffic, this prompted a strong international reaction and protests by local Serbs who saw this action as a threat to their security.
"No one can say that this is not a good and right thing, but we want the law to be applied, freedom of movement to be respected, but also to have peace and security for everyone", Kurti said.
Representatives of the EU and the USA expressed concern about the time and manner of the implementation of this decision.
They requested that the opening of the bridge be preceded by consultations with all parties involved in the Brussels dialogue, in order to avoid the escalation of the situation.
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North and South of Mitrovica connected by new bridge
Even the US ambassador, Jeffrey Hovenier, said that his country has been challenged in several aspects by the Government led by Prime Minister Kurti.
Speaking about the lack of coordination regarding the opening of the bridge, Hovenier stated that changing its current status would endanger KFOR members, including the Americans.
"I have to say that we have been challenged by the prime minister and his government, and I have to say that the quality of our partnership is not what we would hope it would be on some of these issues related to the way he deals with the issue of the north and with that of dialogue", Hovenier had declared in August.
KFOR, which has a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week presence on the bridge, warned that it is ready to confront anyone who tries to open it, without prior coordination.
This was proven by strengthening the patrols near the bridge.
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North and south of Mitrovica connected by new bridge
The visit of the director of the CIA to Kosovo, William J. Burns, was seen as an attempt to address the tensions created around the bridge and that the decision of the Kosovo government would not cause destabilization in the region.
The visit marked an important moment, since the insistence on the opening of the bridge was removed from the discourse because it passed the test that the authorities gave it in terms of sustainability.
The issue of opening the Ibri Bridge is part of two agreements within the dialogue mediated by the European Union - that of 2015 and 2016.
The works for the revitalization of the bridge over the Ibër river, which were financed by the EU, have been completed for years, but it has never been opened for traffic.
The bridge over the river Ibër, or as the French KFOR soldiers had baptized it, "Austerlitz", as a synonym of the bloody battle of 214 years ago against the Austro-Russians, continues to be a symbol of the ethnic division between Albanians and Serbs.
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Kurti says that QUINT and KFOR are waiting for the opening of the bridge
The appearance of the bridge has changed over the years. From the gravel stones, then the pines of the so-called "Peace Park" and the two-meter high wall, the space around the bridge was transformed into a promenade.
But the last obstacle for the free movement of vehicles has not been removed.
