General Angelo Michele Ristuccia,
the commander of the KFOR peacekeeping force, has blasted the
Kosovo government's "unwillingness" to listen after this week's
clashes in which 30 KFOR soldiers, including 11 Italians, were
injured.
The soldiers had intervened on Monday in the town of Zvecan to
restore order during protests by ethnic Serbians trying to
prevent ethnic Albanian mayors elected on April 26 in the
majority Serbian area from taking office.
The Serbian community and parties had boycotted the elections.
"Having clear understanding of what was happening, I met Kosovo
Premier Albin Kurti and invited him to favourably consider the
proposal of the EU and Quint ambassadors to find a solution,"
Ristuccia told ANSA.
"Having highlighted the sensitive nature of the situation, I
encountered total unwillingness (to listen) and the intention to
not consider the risky consequences of the dangerous unilateral
initiatives taken without the coordination of KFOR".
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