Kosovo

Kosovo has put off new border rules with Serbia following another flare-up in ethnic violence.

Serbian protesters in North Mitrovica, a majority-Serb town inside Kosovo, also beat up Albanian people and attacked cars, Kosovo police added. "This is also an example of what place Serbia has been prepared for in the European Union by offering Belgrade to de facto put up with the lack of rights of its compatriots [inside Kosovo]," she said. "Such a development of events is more evidence of the failure of the mediation mission of the European Union," Russian spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who is on an EU blacklist on grounds of spreading propaganda, said. "The overall security situation in the Northern municipalities of Kosovo is tense," Kfor, a Nato-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, said in a statement on Sunday. Serbia is in the middle of EU accession talks, but has close ties to Moscow — it has declined to match Western sanctions on Russia, while stockpiling Russian weapons in recent years. The events were a repeat of last autumn, when Kosovo scrambled special police and Serbia flew warplanes near the border in a dispute about licence plates.

Following a meeting with the US Ambassador to Kosovo Jeffrey Hovenier, the Kosovar government decided to delay the implementation of the law, which sparked ...

The government said that all of the roadblocks would be dismantled. The law in question would require vehicles with Serbian licence plates entering the country to replace them with local numbers. Prishtina changed its mind after Ambassador Hovenier asked for the delay in the name of the US. He said that the decisions of the Kosovar government were fair but owing to an ensuing misunderstanding between Serbia and Kosovo, the situation had escalated.

The NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping mission said it is monitoring the protests over a new ID law and is prepared to intervene "if stability is jeopardized.”

The weekend unrest comes as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has stirred wider tensions in the region. The Western military alliance launched a bombing campaign in 1999 that hit targets across what was then combined Serbia and Montenegro in a bid to halt Serbia’s onslaught against ethnic Kosovar Albanians fighting for autonomy. Josep Borrell, the European Union’s top diplomat, welcomed a decision by Kosovo to delay the new measures until Sept. 1 and called for all roadblocks to be removed immediately.

Tensions arise after Pristina asks people entering Kosovo with Serbian IDs to replace them with a temporary document.

They remain politically loyal to Serbia which still provides financial support. The latest tensions came after the government in Pristina said from Monday, people entering Kosovo with Serbian IDs would have to replace them with a temporary document during their stay in the country. Kosovo’s government has postponed for a month the implementation of new border rules that sparked tensions in the north of the country where ethnic Serbs blocked roads and unknown gunmen fired on police.

Protesters set up roadblocks and shots were fired after Pristina brought in rules that would mean Serbs in Kosovo must use Kosovo licence plates.

A similar rule is applied by Belgrade authorities to Kosovars who visit Serbia. Kosovo police said they had to close the border crossings. The statement said KFOR was “monitoring closely” and “prepared to intervene if stability is jeopardised”.

Under new regulations that were meant to take effect on Aug. 1, ethnic Serbs living in villages in northern Kosovo would have had to apply for license plates ...

Serbia and Kosovo fought a brutal war between 1998 and 1999 that ended with the involvement of NATO in a U.S.-backed bombing campaign against Serbian territory. Members of the Kosovo Liberation Army were also accused of committing war crimes against ethnic Serbs in Kosovo and those they viewed as collaborators. Western countries and NATO became involved, bringing the parties together in France in February 1999 to negotiate a truce. The creation of the force was approved by a U.N. Security Council resolution. Albin Kurti, Kosovo’s prime minister, accused the protesters of trying to “destabilize” Kosovo and charged that Serbia was orchestrating “aggressive acts” during the protests. Kosovo’s allies, including the United States and European Union, called for calm and urged Pristina to delay implementation of the new rules. Another rule would have forced Serbian nationals visiting Kosovo to get an additional entry-exit document from Kosovar authorities at the border. Serbia imposes a similar rule on Kosovars seeking to cross its borders. Since the 1998-99 war, some in that population had used Serbian license plates with a different status. Authorities in Kosovo tolerated the dual-track system to preserve the peace but said last year they would no longer do so. Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in February 2008, but Serbia still considers Kosovo its province. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said, “We have never been in a more difficult situation.”

NATO-led peacekeepers backed by helicopters on Monday oversaw the removal of roadblocks protesters had set up in north Kosovo, where political tensions have ...

Tensions with Serbia remain high and Kosovo's fragile peace is maintained by NATO's KFOR mission, which has 3,770 troops on the ground. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com It was not immediately clear how many of the roadblocks were removed. “Violence will not be tolerated. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Social media users are spreading disinformation about a full-scale 'war' that has allegedly already broken out between Kosovo and Serbia after Kosovo Serbs ...

Several Kosovo media such as Nacionale and Indeks Online among others reported that a Kosovo police official and two Serbian citizens had been injured by gunfire between police and the citizens that erected the barricades. It’s why ICTY (International Criminal Tribunal on Yugoslavia) should be dissolved,” Grenell said in one tweet, which received over 500 likes. A similar escalation occurred in September 2021, after Kosovo’s government required vehicles with Serbian licence plates to switch to temporary Kosovo-issued ones at the border. Photos from last year are being shared on social media as if they happened on Sunday, On July 31, 2022. Up to 1,501 citizens have been provided with this document, waiting 20 seconds”. “This is an irresponsible and unnecessary comment. 🇷🇸 is trying to start an aggressive war. Serbia is trying to start an aggressive war.” If Serbia invades#Kosovo, we should defend the Kosovars. 🇺🇦 is ready to act with our troops on the ground. Barricades in the village of Rudar, on the road to Serb-majority Kosovo municipality of Leposavic, close to the border with Serbia, August 1, 2022. Nor has Ukraine recognized Kosovo’s sovereignty. Photo: Adelina Ahmeti/BIRN

Bloc calls on parties to show restraint, continue with EU-led dialogue to solve recent tensions - Anadolu Agency.

Launched in 2011, the EU-led Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue aims to normalize relations between the two Balkan countries and to find a mutually agreeable solution for the disputes in the framework of a legally binding agreement. He said “all open issues between Serbia and Kosovo need to be addressed through the EU-facilitated dialogue,” which is essential for the two countries’ path toward the EU. The European Union on Monday urged Kosovo and Serbia to show restraint in the recent upsurge of tensions over new border rules, and invited the parties to continue talks in Brussels.