The embassies of the Quint Member States (France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, and the United States) have urged the Kosovo government to “expeditiously” resolve the issue of Kosovo-Montenegro road passing through land owned by the orthodox monastery of Deçan.
In a joint statement on Thursday, they announced that they had met with parties, Mayor Bashkim Ramosaj and Father Sava Janjic of the monastery during a fact finding trip in Deçan.
“We call on parties to strictly adhere to Kosovo’s laws, in particular the 2008 law on the Special Protective Zones, and to address any remaining concerns within the framework of the Implementation Monitoring Council (IMC), prior to taking any action. Furthermore, we urge the Kosovo authorities to implement the Constitutional Court ruling of 19 May 2016 on the land dispute case in Decani. Finally, we request the Government of Kosovo to expeditiously resolve the road works issue in accordance with the above,” the statement noted.
The government of Kosovo suspended the construction of the road, after Serbia complained that it endangered the heritage of a monastery and jeopardized the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue.
The government called on local authorities responsible for the construction to comply with the Constitutional Court decision of 2016 recognizing ownership of the land, where part of the new road falls, to the Orthodox monastery of Deçan.
The monastery has asked authorities to change the road project to avoid passing through its propoerty.
