Germany Mulls Cutting Kosovo Aid Over Blast Arrests - Source
Sunday November 30th, 2008 / 15h03
BERLIN (AFP)--Germany had to press Kosovo to win the release of three of its nationals held as part of a probe into a bomb attack in Pristina, and is now considering cutting aid, a source told AFP Sunday. "Nothing has been decided but it is accurate that a certain amount of pressure was exercised and that these considerations are taking place," the source with knowledge of bilateral ties said, confirming a report in the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag. The newspaper reported Sunday that Berlin had brought "massive pressure" to bear on the Kosovan authorities to have the three men, who reportedly work for German intelligence, released over the weekend. German Chancellor Angela Merkel's chief of staff, Thomas de Maziere, called the prime minister of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, Tuesday and threatened to cap aid, particularly for defense, WAMS said. Germany is Kosovo's primary financial backer after the U.S. It has pledged EUR100 million in aid for 2009 and 2010. The three Germans, reportedly working for the BND foreign intelligence service, were captured Nov. 19 and accused of involvement in the bombing of the Pristina headquarters of European Union special envoy Pieter Feith. Kosovo and German media reports said the trio were investigating the blast for the BND. Since they were not registered with the Kosovan government, however, they had no diplomatic immunity. A U.N. court in Pristina ordered their release Friday and the three left Kosovo Saturday. Last week, a German government spokesman had angrily dismissed as "absurd" the notion that Berlin could have been involved in an attack on an E.U. envoy. The Pristina attack, in which no one was injured, came amid opposition by Kosovo Albanians to the planned deployment in December of an E.U. civilian mission focused on police, the judiciary and customs, under a deal reached between the U.N. and Serbia. Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/al?rnd=fFWui2UANxLvafhqnQjU%2Bg%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
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