The US and the EU have both called for an "unconditional de-escalation" of tensions between Kosovo and Serbia as fears of another armed conflict between the two Balkan countries continue to grow, Belga News Agency has reported.
"The European Union and the United States of America are concerned about the continued tense situation in the north of Kosovo," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel and EU spokeswoman Nabila Massrali said in a joint statement. "We call on everyone to exercise maximum restraint, to take immediate action to unconditionally de-escalate the situation, and to refrain from provocations, threats, or intimidation."
The statement added that both the US and the EU "are working with [Serbian] President Vucic and [Kosovan] Prime Minister Kurti to find a political solution in order to defuse the tensions and agree on the way forward in the interest of stability, safety and well-being of all local communities."
Relations between Belgrade and Pristina have been deeply strained ever since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, following a long and bloody civil war in the late 1990s.
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The tensions were significantly exacerbated earlier this year when the Kosovar Government banned Serbian license plates throughout the country. This enraged Kosovo's small but vocal ethnic Serbian minority, many of whom refuse to recognise the government in Pristina as legitimate and continue to regard Kosovo as a province of Serbia.
On 10 December, Serbs living in northern Kosovo erected roadblocks at several Serbian border crossings to protest against the arrest of a former Serbian policeman who was accused of being involved in attacks against ethnic Albanian police officers.
On Tuesday, Serbia placed its armed forces at "full combat readiness" and promised that "all measures [would] be taken to protect the Serbian people in Kosovo". The German Foreign Ministry subsequently denounced Serbia's "unacceptable nationalist rhetoric" and called for the "illegal barricades" to be "dismantled as soon as possible".
By contrast, Russia — Serbia's traditional ally — has expressed its "support [for] Belgrade in all its actions".
"It is natural that Serbia defends the rights of Serbs who live next door in such difficult conditions and that it reacts harshly when its rights are violated," said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov.
