Shaheen, Johnson, Tillis, Van Hollen issue statement urging Serbia and Kosovo to continue on diplomatic track and prevent political escalation
U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) – chair and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation – issued a joint statement with U.S. Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) after leaders of Serbia and Kosovo did not reach a solution to resolve disagreements over the use of automobile license plates by the ethnic Serbian minority. Shaheen and Tillis visited Kosovo and Serbia in April as part of a congressional delegation visit to the Balkans, which also included a stop in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“We are disappointed by the lack of progress in finding a diplomatic path forward between the governments of Kosovo and Serbia to resolve the impending issuance of Kosovo-issued license plates in the Serb entities of Kosovo. We are also increasingly concerned about the risk of violence and instability in the region, which puts at risk decades of hard-won peace. We support the European Union’s efforts to broker a peaceful resolution to this issue, and we encourage Prime Minister Kurti to exhaust all diplomatic avenues to reach a peaceful resolution to this issue with President Vucic. We also express our appreciation to our KFOR troops for playing an instrumental role in maintaining peace in the region,” said the Senators.