Pristina to retreat? Kosovo President Viosa Osmani assured on Thursday night that she is “ready to consider” the possibility of holding new municipal elections in the four municipalities of northern Kosovo that have seen clashes between Serb protesters and the peacekeeping force KFOR in recent days, when Albanian mayors tried to assume their duties.

The demand for new elections was made by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at their earlier four-way meeting with Osmani and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

French President Emmanuel Macron asked Vucic and Osmani to make “clear decisions (…) within the next week” and spoke of settling, “as a matter of priority and without delay, the issue of the Union of Serbian Municipalities on his behalf of Kosovo”. According to Macron, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, will hold discussions with ministers from both sides on the issue of the Union of Serbian Municipalities.

However, Macron did not mince his words on the Albanian side. He regretted the organization of municipal elections in northern Kosovo, although there were no guarantees that they would be properly conducted, and the fact that “four mayors with participation being below 5%which obviously does not constitute a condition of legality”.

Serbs boycotted the April municipal elections in these northern Kosovo municipalities, which resulted in the election of mayors from the Albanian community, although turnout was less than 3.5%.

France and Germany urged today Thursday the leaders of Kosovo and Serbia to organize new municipal elections, as soon as possible, in those areas where there have been riots in recent days, announced the French president.

The French president said that his country and Germany they ask for clarification the electoral regulations of Kosovo.

The presidents of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo’s Vijosa Osmani had an “informal meeting” earlier today with Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit being held in Bulboza of Moldavia.

For his part, the American Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called on Kosovo and Serbia to take immediate steps to reduce tensions, warning that the current situation “obstructs proceedings Euro-Atlantic integration of both countries”.

Speaking after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Oslo, Blinken made it clear that many allies expressed concern about tensions in northern Kosovo after Albanian mayors took office in Serb-majority areas following April elections in which Serbs refused to participate.

However, he does not appear to be backing down, but instead stands by his decision to install Albanian mayors in Serb-majority cities, Kosovo’s prime minister Albin Kurti.