The tension in northern Kosovo comes to relief after the decision of the Kosovo government to suspend for a month the implementation of the decision to replace the Serbian license plates.
Pristina took this decision following the intervention of the US, which requested that the measure be temporarily revoked to avoid an escalation of tension.
Interventions in Pristina were also made by the EU with the same request.
As announced by the Government of Kosovo, the decision on number plates is not being withdrawn, but will start to apply from September 1st, not today August 1st as announced.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic after a meeting he had yesterday at midnight with the leadership of the armed forces, he declared that he was satisfied that reason had prevailed.
“We are working to calm things down, this is the most important thing for us and no matter how difficult it is, we are not giving up and in the end Serbia will win,” Mr. Vucic said in a statement.
Albin Kurti’s government had given Kosovo Serbs a month to replace their Serbian vehicle registration plates with ones issued by the Kosovo authorities, the Athens News Agency reported. It was also decided that Serbian identity cards will not be accepted at the border crossings from today and their holders would be provided with a temporary document for entry into Kosovo with a duration of stay of 90 days.
In northern Kosovo, roadblocks were erected on arterial roads leading to the administrative border with Serbia. Strong police forces were deployed in northern Kosovo, while NATO military force (KFOR) forces were put on standby. Last night, shots were heard in northern Kosovo, with some projectiles falling near police positions — but no police officers were injured, Kosovo police said.
Information on social networking sites spoke of the entry of the Serbian army into Kosovo and an exchange of fire with Kosovar police.
However, the Serbian Ministry of Defense denied the information with a statement in which it said: “At the moment, the Serbian army has not crossed the administrative line and has not entered (…) the territory of Kosovo.”
The Kosovo crisis also provoked a diplomatic reaction from Russia, which sided with the Serbs. “Kosovo Albanian leaders know that the Serbs will not remain indifferent when their liberties are directly threatened and are deliberately escalating the situation to trigger a military scenario. Of course, the target of the sharp attacks is also Belgrade, which the West wants to further weaken using Albanian hands,” said a press release of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Trucks
The head of European diplomacy, Giuseppe Borrell, welcomed last night via Twitter the decision taken by Pristina, calling in turn to “remove all roadblocks immediately”.
Last night, hundreds of Kosovo Serbs gathered trucks, tankers and other heavy vehicles on roads leading to the Jarinje and Brniak crossing points.
The Serbs of Kosovo do not recognize the authority of Pristina, nor the independence of Kosovo. They remain loyal to Belgrade, on which they depend financially.
In a speech yesterday, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said the situation “has never been so complicated” in Kosovo for Serbia and the Serbs living there.
He spoke of an atmosphere of “effervescence” and explained that if the Serbs of Kosovo are targeted, “Serbia will win.”
For his part, Albin Kurti accused Mr. Vucic of inciting “riots.” “The next hours, days and weeks may be difficult and problematic,” the Kosovar prime minister warned on Facebook.
There were also tensions in northern Kosovo in September, after Pristina’s decision to ban cars with Serbian number plates from entering the country. Daily demonstrations and roadblocks to the two border crossings were recorded.
The NATO force in Kosovo, KFOR, announced yesterday that it is closely monitoring the situation and is ready to intervene “if stability is threatened”.
Italian soldiers were seen in Mitrovica yesterday. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization force has some 3,770 military personnel.
In 2013, the parties agreed to start dialogue with EU support to resolve their differences and normalize relations, but little progress has been made.
Source: News Beast
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