Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev had a telephone conversation with Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu on Sunday. President Radev expressed his condolences for the victims of the shootout in Northern Kosovo. Rumen Radev expressed his concern over the escalation of tension in Kosovo, the Bulgarian Presidency press service said. Presidents Radev and Osmani-Sadriu agreed that there is a need for responsibility on all sides for de-escalation and risk reduction, which is in the interest for both the citizens of Kosovo and the NATO- led international peacekeeping force in Kosovo (KFOR), whose members include Bulgarian personnel.

A police officer was killed and another was wounded by 30 gunmen in Northern Kosovo on Sunday. The armed attackers barricaded themselves in a monastery in the village of Banjska. Three of them were killed during the shootout with the police, BTA reported.