Kosovar Albanian Mayors Sworn In To Lead Serb-Majority Areas In North

The new mayor of Leposavic, Lulzim Hetemi, takes the oath on May 26.

Three ethnic Albanian mayors were sworn in on May 25 to lead municipalities with ethnic Serbian majorities in northern Kosovo where Serbs boycotted by-elections sparked by resignations over a cross-border dispute between Pristina and Belgrade. A fourth mayor was sworn in last week in a process that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic led a boycott of and has condemned as an "occupation" of areas of the former Serbian province. Vucic has vowed never to recognize Kosovar independence and Western-mediated talks on normalization have proceeded slowly. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Balkan Service, click here.