Moscow supports Serbian policy to protect its citizens in northern Kosovo. But at the same time the Kremlin denies fomenting Belgrade to further increase tensions, as claimed by a Kosovo minister.
Pristina thinks Serbia is deliberately risking stability in the border region. Belgrade has now put the army on high alert and is preparing for a further escalation. According to Kosovo, Serbia is working with Russia to create more chaos not only in that country but throughout the Balkans.
‘Mistaken’
The Kremlin calls these allegations false, saying it is wrong to “look for a destructive Russian influence.” “Serbia is a sovereign country and it obviously protects the rights of Serbs living nearby in such difficult circumstances, and it obviously reacts fiercely when those rights are violated.”
Serbia claims to defend the Serb minority living in northern Kosovo, a country with almost exclusively Albanians. Nearly 2 million people live in Kosovo, of which around 50,000 consider themselves Serbs. It has been unstable in the border region for months, mainly due to a law that would ban people from driving with Serbian license plates. The law has been postponed, but blockades are still routinely erected at border crossings in protest.
Support for Serbia
Moscow says it supports Serbia in the steps taken, citing the “close cooperation and historical and spiritual ties” between the two countries. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday that he would continue to “fight for peace and seek diplomatic solutions”.
On Wednesday, the NATO mission in Kosovo also called for dialogue between the two sides to ease tensions. NATO intervened during the 1998-1999 war. He bombed what was then Yugoslavia, forcing Yugoslav troops to retreat. Most of the Serbs then living in Kosovo were expelled. Since then, the NATO mission has been there to keep the peace.
Source: BNR
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