Kosovo’s government caves in – Serbs remove barricades

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abroad border dispute

Kosovo’s government caves in – Serbs remove barricades

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Kosovo postpones planned entry rules

After tensions in northern Kosovo near the border with Serbia, Pristina has pledged to postpone a controversial measure on planned border controls for the time being. Militant Serbs had previously blocked the access routes to two border crossings from Kosovo to Serbia with barricades.

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Because of new entry rules, militant Serbs in Kosovo had blocked the access routes to two border crossings. After the Kosovan government postponed the new regulation, the situation is now easing.

MIllitant Serbs began Monday morning to remove the street barricades in northern Kosovo that they had erected the day before. This was reported by the Serbian state television RTS. By blocking the access roads to two border crossings to Serbia, the Kosovar Serbs had protested against new modalities for border controls in Kosovo.

According to this, people who identify themselves at the border with Serbian identity documents have had to have an additional certificate issued by the Kosovan border police since Monday. Serbian license plates are also no longer recognized. Pristina sees this as a countermeasure to the fact that neighboring Serbia has not recognized Kosovan documents for several years.

Tensions arose on Sunday because of the new border regulations in northern Kosovo, which is predominantly inhabited by Serbs. Militant activists barricaded the roads to Jarinje and Brnjak with heavy construction machinery. Kosovan police officers were shot at. No one was injured, the police in Pristina said late Sunday evening.

New border regulation will not be implemented for the time being

International diplomats intervened on Monday night. Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti then declared that the implementation of the new regulation would be suspended for a month as soon as the militant Serbs removed the street barricades.

The government had condemned “the blocking of roads in northern Kosovo” and the firing of shots by armed persons. Pristina blamed Belgrade for “aggressive actions” throughout the afternoon and evening.

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Kosovo, now almost exclusively inhabited by Albanians, once belonged to Serbia. In 2008 it declared itself independent. Serbia does not recognize the statehood of Kosovo and claims its territory for itself. The Bundeswehr has also been stationed in Kosovo since 1999 as part of the international mission.

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Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht observed the tense situation at the border with concern. “It’s good that the Kosovar government has now reacted calmly and is thus contributing to relaxation,” said the SPD politician on Monday in Berlin. KFOR is also closely monitoring the situation and is ready to intervene should stability be threatened, as its mandate stipulates. “The Bundeswehr remains engaged in NATO and with KFOR in order to guarantee a safe environment and freedom of movement for all people in Kosovo,” Lambrecht said.

The EU invited the parties to the conflict to a crisis meeting in Brussels on Monday. The aim is to advise on how to proceed and to prevent such tensions from recurring, said a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Monday in Brussels.

The Defense Committee of the Bundestag will also deal with the tensions between Kosovo and Serbia at its special session on Wednesday. “Before I allow myself to judge, I’ll let myself be informed in detail,” said the committee chairwoman, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), the news portal “The Pioneer”. “I have therefore put it on the agenda of the special session of the Defense Committee.” The meeting of the committee had been planned for some time.

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