“Good morning. On instructions from our capitals, representatives from France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the US met with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti today to inform him that our governments, in consultation with NATO, cannot support any change to the current status of the Mitrovica bridge at this time,“ the U.S. ambassador to Pristina, Jeffrey Hovenier, told the media this morning after a meeting between Quint and Kurti.
Hovenier confirmed that the topic of today’s meeting was the issue of opening the main Ibar bridge in Mitrovica.
After giving this brief statement, Hovenier informed the media that he would not be answering any questions and then he left.
The same delegation met with the Kosovo PM in the middle of last month, where the opening of the Ibar bridge was also discussed.
The Kosovo government also confirmed this on July 17:
„In the context of informing and coordinating with our international partners, the topic of discussion at this meeting was the importance of coordinating institutional actions for opening the bridge over the Ibar River to vehicles, to enable full freedom of movement, which benefits citizens on both sides of the bridge equally, while also promoting economic development and market growth through the easier movement of goods and capital.“
KoSSev asked Veton Elshani, Deputy Commander of the Kosovo Police for the northern region, whether there is any indication that today’s sudden statement by Hovenier might lead to the opening of the Ibar bridge, to which he briefly responded: „No.“
Our reporters also visited the bridge, where the situation remains normal. Two Italian Carabinieri vehicles are stationed on the bridge itself, and a Kosovo Police patrol is at the nearby roundabout. On the south side of the bridge, there are two EULEX vehicles.
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
