WASHINGTON–U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement after a call on Tuesday with President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, along with U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.):
“The situation in Northern Kosovo remains tenuous, and I recognize Serbia has taken several steps to lower the temperature, including pulling back its troops from the border and lowering their readiness level. I pressed President Vučić to continue to prioritize measures to calm the situation and conveyed that the United States is sending the same message to officials in Kosovo. I believe the best path forward is to hold new local elections with Serb participation in Northern Kosovo and get back to the negotiating table on establishing an Association of Serb-majority Municipalities. These are reasonable steps that should not stand in the way of peace, and time is of the essence,” said Murphy.
Last week, Murphy joined U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), and Pete Ricketts (R-Neb) in a joint statement urging calm between Kosovo and Serbia amid deteriorating security conditions between the two nations. Earlier this month, Murphy, Shaheen, and Ricketts spoke to Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti to call for de-escalation.
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