Western powers deplore Kosovo’s rejection of their mediation

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — The United States and four European countries have chided Kosovo for rejecting their “constructive proposal” for allowing the Balkan nation’s ethnic Serb minority to vote in neighboring Serbia’s April 3 election. In a joint statement, the U.S., France Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom said they had spent months “intensely engaged” with Kosovo and Serbia “to find a pragmatic solution” for the participation of ethnic Serb citizens of Kosovo in the election. The five Western nations didn’t reveal what their proposal entailed. Kosovo’s prime minister, Albin Kurti, said his Cabinet hasn’t decided against facilitating voting in Serbia’s election, but he insisted the two countries first need to have a preliminary agreement on the issue.