The presidents of Kosovo and Serbia held talks on Thursday on resolving a political crisis that has spiraled into violence, with the leaders of France and Germany pressing them to take swift steps to reduce tensions.
Kosovo's Vjosa Osmani and Serbia's Aleksandar Vucic met briefly in the presence of French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the European Union's foreign policy chief on the sidelines of a summit in Moldova.
Violence flared on Monday after Kosovo authorities, backed by special police units, installed ethnic Albanian mayors in offices in northern municipalities. The mayors had been elected on a turnout of just 3.5 percent after Serbs boycotted local polls.
Speaking after the meeting with Vucic, Osmani accused the Serbian leader of "whining and complaining and ... not telling the truth." But she said Kosovo could hold new elections in the north with Serb participation if they were triggered legally.
That would fulfil one of the conditions set out by Macron and Scholz for resolving the crisis.
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