Guerre –
Serbia and Kosovo agree on the search for the missing
The two countries, whose relations are still tense, have agreed to search for people still missing since the war.
Published today at 02:56
The year 2024 was marked by armed clashes and other incidents that hampered normalization between Serbia and Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s Kosovo (photo).
AFP
Subscribe now and enjoy the audio playback feature.
BotTalk
Negotiators from Serbia and Kosovo reached an agreement in Brussels on Tuesday aimed at accelerating the search for more than 1,600 people still missing since the 1998-1999 war.
Of the 6,065 cases of people reported missing between January 1, 1998 and December 31, 2000, 1,607 remain unsolved, according to the diplomatic service of the European Union.
The agreement reached on Tuesday represents progress, at the end of a year marked by armed clashes and other incidents which hampered normalization between Serbia and Kosovo.
“Positive news”
Belgrade’s chief negotiator, Petar Petkovic, and Pristina’s chief negotiator, Besnik Bislimi, agreed in Brussels on the creation of a joint working group to oversee the implementation of the declaration adopted in May 2023 by the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, and the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti.
This declaration establishes the principle of cooperation between the two parties to identify burial sites, and mutually guarantee full access to information allowing the location and identification of missing persons.
According to Petar Petkovic, the two parties agreed to create “a joint commission, which will provide support to the working group chaired, as before, by the International Committee of the Red Cross”. Besnik Bislimi called the agreement “positive news.”
13,000 dead
“We hope this will positively influence the work of the Joint Commission. Because if it does not produce results on the field, it is of no use,” added Besnik Bislimi.
While welcoming the agreement, the European Union for its part underlined “the urgent need to deploy additional efforts to enable affected families and the entire community to turn the page”.
The war in Kosovo, a former Serbian province, left around 13,000 dead, most of them Albanian Kosovars. It ended when a campaign of NATO airstrikes in the spring of 1999 forced Serbian forces to stop fighting. Serbia has never recognized Kosovo’s declaration of independence in 2008.
“Latest news”
Want to stay on top of the news? “Tribune de Genève” offers you two meetings per day, directly in your email box. So you don’t miss anything that’s happening in your canton, in Switzerland or around the world.
Other newsletters
Log in
AFP
Did you find an error? Please report it to us.
0 comments
Related News :