Serbian President Vucic urged Kosovo Serbs not to engage in conflict with NATO's Peacekeeping Force in Kosovo, which injured 30 soldiers.
There are concerns that the recent events between Kosovo and Serbia, which have come face to face from time to time in the Balkans, will turn into major conflicts.
The tension, which started with the protests of Kosovo Serbs, who opposed the "Albanian" administration in the municipalities in the north of Kosovo, where Serbs live heavily, grew after 30 soldiers of NATO's Peace Force in Kosovo (KFOR) were injured. Following the incidents in which KFOR soldiers were injured, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that 700 additional soldiers would be sent to the region as reinforcements. While the US signaled that sanctions could be imposed on Kosovo, many countries, including Turkey, called for the tension to be reduced as soon as possible.
WHY DID KOSOVO-SERBIA FACE AGAIN?
While the Kosovo Serbs boycotted the local elections held on 23 April in the municipalities of Zveçan, Zubin Potok and Leposavic, where Serbs are concentrated in the north of Kosovo, the turnout remained at 3 percent. Protesting the inauguration of the Albanian mayors who won the local elections on 26 May, Kosovo Serbs first faced the Kosovo police.
It was announced that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, especially after the events in front of the Zveçan Municipality, ordered the Serbian army to "get ready" and that the members of the army would be deployed to the Kosovo border. While the United States was the first country to condemn the events in the region, NATO called on the parties to de-escalate the same day.
30 KFOR MILITARY WOUNDED
After Kosovo Serbs continued their protests on May 29, Kosovo police and KFOR surrounded the town halls with wire fences and increased staffing in the area. It was reported that 30 soldiers of the unit were injured in the clash between the KFOR units, which increased the number of soldiers, and the Kosovo Serbs who protested.
While NATO and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned the tension with KFOR, Vucic called on Kosovo Serbs not to engage in conflict with NATO at a press conference. While Germany, Italy, Ireland, France and Switzerland were the countries that condemned the attacks on KFOR, EU High Representative for Foreign Relations and Security Policy Josep Borrell stated that Europe cannot afford a new conflict.
US Ambassador to Kosovo Jeffrey Hovenier stated that the recent tensions in the north of the country will affect the relations between the two countries and that the US will impose sanctions on Kosovo. Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said he would not surrender the democratic republic to "fascist militias".
LATEST TENSIONS ON THE SERBIA-KOSOVO LINE
The two countries have hosted problems similar to the crisis they are in today many times. Kosovo and Serbia clashed in July last year after Kosovo announced that it would require everyone, including Serbs, living in the country to have a Kosovo ID card and plate. While Kosovo Serbs closed the border crossings with Serbia in the north of the country, this time, KFOR announced that they were ready to intervene.
While the EU's intervention helped ease the tension, Borell announced that both countries had reached an agreement on the identity card and license plate issue. Just a few months after the identity and license plate crisis was "overtaken", the two countries were once again tense.
With the detention of former Serbian police officer Dejan Pantic by the Kosovo police on December 10, 2022, Kosovo Serbs set up barricades at border crossings in response to this. Kosovo Serbs, who stood guard at the barricades for days, lifted the barricades on December 29, 2022, upon the conversion of Pantic's detention decision to house arrest and Vucic's call.
DILEMMA BETWEEN TWO COUNTRIES: THE UNION OF MUNICIPALITIES OF SERBIA
Meanwhile, the Union of Serbian Municipalities is at the forefront of the unresolved issues between Kosovo and Serbia. Serbia emphasizes at every opportunity that the establishment of the Union of Serbian Municipalities is a priority, otherwise the dialogue with Kosovo cannot continue. The Kosovo side, on the other hand, stipulates that the union charter must comply with the country's constitution for the union to be established.
The agreement on the establishment of the Union of Serbian Municipalities in the mostly Serb-populated municipalities in Kosovo was signed between Kosovo and Serbia in 2013, under the mediation of the EU, but was not implemented because the Constitutional Court of Kosovo decided that the union had broad powers that could "achieve autonomy" and was not in line with the Constitution of Kosovo. was not placed.
SERBIA CONSIDERS KOSOVO AS ITS OWN LAND
Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence in 2008 brought Serbia, which still sees Kosovo as its own territory, against Kosovo at regular intervals and for different reasons.
While Serbia does not recognize the independence of Kosovo and does not give up lobbying in this direction, on the other hand, Kosovo tries to exist as an independent country. Although Kosovo is recognized as an "independent state" by 117 countries, it is described as "one of Europe's frozen conflict zones" due to the ongoing ethnic tensions in its north and its inability to become a member of the United Nations.
Serbia and Kosovo are trying to find a common way to normalize relations and ultimately recognize each other as part of the EU-mediated Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Process launched in 2011. While the tensions between the two countries caused this dialogue to be interrupted, Kosovo and Serbia officials last met in Brussels on 2 May.