Militant Serbs erected barricades in the predominantly Serb-populated north of Kosovo on Sunday. Unknown persons also fired shots at Kosovar police officers, but no one was injured, police in Pristina said late Sunday night. The reason for the tension is that the Kosovo authorities will no longer recognize Serbian identity documents at the border crossings from midnight on Monday. Serbs with such papers must have a provisional document at the border. The Kosovo side is responding to similar regulations in the neighboring country, which still does not recognize Kosovo’s independence.
For a long time, Kosovar citizens have had to have a preliminary document issued when crossing the border into Serbia, because the Serbian authorities do not recognize the Kosovar papers. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic emphasized in a TV speech on Sunday that Kosovo is still part of Serbia under the Serbian constitution. “But we are not taking up arms every day to bring Kosovo back into Serbia’s constitutional framework. We don’t want conflict or war,” stressed Vucic, who admitted that the situation for the Serbian people has never been more difficult than it is now.
Meanwhile, reports of alleged incidents in the former southern Serbian province are circulating on social media. The Serbian Defense Ministry also had to refute speculation that it had crossed the border into Kosovo. However, a message distributed in the evening said that the Serbian army had not crossed the administrative border “until now”.
Vucic threw more fuel into the fire with his speech. The head of state accused Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti of trying to create facts in the slipstream of the war in Ukraine. “The regime in Pristina wants to portray itself as a victim and play the Putin card, with Kurti in the role of Zelenskyy,” the Serbian president said in a televised speech. He also mentioned the word “denazification” – a term also used by the Kremlin to justify its attack on Ukraine.
Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008, a move recognized by most Western countries. In addition to Serbia and the UN veto power Russia, five EU countries have not taken this step, leaving Kosovo’s international status controversial.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
