Emmanuel Macron, Merkel to host EU-backed Serbia-Kosovo video summit to ease tensions

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are set to host an EU-backed video summit between Serbia and Kosovo on July 10 to ease the tension between rival nations. The decision to host the Balkan rivals comes after the indictment of Kosova President Hashim Thaci in The Hague over the secessionist war with Serbia in the late 1990s.

A White House summit between Serbia and Kosovo, scheduled to be held at the end of June, has already been postponed due to the indictment. A special court at The Hague announced the charges accusing Thaci of "a range of crimes against humanity and war crimes”, including murder, forced disappearances, torture, and persecution.

The office has accused Thaci, Veseli and other charged suspects of nearly 100 murders involving hundreds of known victims of Kosovo Albanian, Serb, Roma, and other ethnicities. The Special Prosecutor’s Office had said in a statement that the indictment was a result of a lengthy investigation and exuded confidence that it can prove all of the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. 

Thaci was one of the leading figures of Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) fighting against Serb forces which led to thousands of deaths in a decade-long bloody conflict. He played a key role in peace negotiations and became the Prime Minister after Kosovo’s independence was declared and eventually elected as President in 2016.

Read: Kosovo PM Reaffirms Commitment To Serbia Dialogue

'Most successful movement'

After the charges were announced, Kosovo's Ambassador to the US Vlora Çitaku tweeted saying the Kosovo Liberation Army will remain the most successful liberation movement in modern history once “the dust settles & the smoke clears”. Kosovo, a partially-recognised state in Southeast Europe, has also been facing political instability over the coronavirus pandemic.

In April, a top UN official had urged the leaders to set aside political agendas to save lives after the ouster of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti over his handling of COVID-19. Zahir Tanin, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Kosovo, told the Security Council that the region is especially vulnerable to the threat of a wider outbreak.

Read: Kosovo President Denies War Crimes In TV Address

(Image: AP)