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German defense officials said on Friday that they are considering the possibility of sending additional troops to Kosovo to strengthen NATO's peacekeeping mission following the violence and tensions in northern Kosovo in recent weeks, VOA reports.
"With a request from my Austrian colleague Klaudia (Tanner), we are examining whether we can increase our engagement within the current (parliamentary) mandate to support Austria," said German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
NATO deployed additional troops to Kosovo after tensions erupted on May 26 in the northern part of the country, where groups of Serbian protesters took to the streets to oppose the installation of Albanian mayors who emerged from the elections on April 23, which were boycotted by Serbian political parties. At least 30 peacekeeping forces were injured during the clashes at the end of May.
Western diplomats have been trying to convince Kosovo and Serbia to reduce tensions by fulfilling three requests from the European Union, which include suspending police operations, relocating mayors to alternative offices, and holding early elections with limited participation of Kosovo Serbs.
Western diplomats have expressed concern about the possibility of escalating security situation at a time when neither Kosovo nor Serbia has taken steps to reduce tensions despite their calls to do so.
The European envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia talks, Miroslav Lajčák, after visiting Pristina and Belgrade in an effort to find a way out of the crisis in northern Kosovo, said that meetings with the leaders of both countries have helped clarify the next steps to de-escalate the situation.
Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has expressed support for holding new elections and reducing the presence of special police units in the north, alongside the establishment of the rule of law. He has requested guarantees from international authorities that the elections will be held without pressure from Belgrade and that the results of the April 23 elections, boycotted by local Serbs, will not be repeated.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said that Belgrade has fulfilled all the requests of the European Union and is ready to work further on de-escalation, which, according to him, does not depend solely on Serbia. He has warned that he will seek an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council to stop what he described as the "persecution" of Serbs in Kosovo.