EU and US call for restraint in Kosovo

The office of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, has issued a joint statement with the US State Department on the tension in Kosovo.

Expressing that the EU and the US are concerned about the tense situation in northern Kosovo, the statement said: “We call on everyone to act immediately to de-escalate unconditionally and show maximum restraint to avoid provocations, threats and intimidating actions. .” statement was included.

In the statement, it was reported that the US and the EU are working with Serbian President Aleksander Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti to find a political solution to resolve the tension.

Noting the Kosovo administration’s assurances that peacefully protesting Kosovar Serbs will not be detained, the statement was welcomed and also emphasized that violence would not be tolerated.

The statement noted that the US supports EULEX, the EU mission working for the rule of law in Kosovo, and that Kosovo and Serbia are expected to return to an environment that ensures reconciliation, cooperation and stability.

KOSOVO-SERBIAN TENSION

Tensions between Kosovo and Serbia have escalated following the arrest of former Serbian policeman Dejan Pantic.

Reacting to Pantic’s arrest, Kosovo Serbs have been standing guard at barricades they erected at the Jarinje and Bernjak border crossings since 10 December.

The EU, NATO and the US called for the de-escalation and removal of the barricades in northern Kosovo; Serbia has requested NATO’s Kosovo Peacekeeping Force (KFOR) to deploy the Serbian army and police in northern Kosovo.

Serbia considers Kosovo, which unilaterally declared its independence in 2008, as its territory.

Serbia and Kosovo, which regularly clash, are trying to find a common path towards normalizing relations and, ultimately, getting the two countries to know each other, within the framework of the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Process launched in 2011 under EU mediation. (AA)