NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on the governments of Kosovo and Serbia to refrain from actions that would increase tensions in Kosovo.
Stoltenberg had a telephone conversation with Serbian President Aleksander Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti about the tension that has arisen over the situation regarding license plates in northern Kosovo.
STOLTENBERG CALLS
Commenting on the talks on social media, Stoltenberg said, “I urged both to refrain from unilateral actions that would escalate tensions.” used the phrase.
Stating that the only way out is dialogue, Stoltenberg noted that the NATO Kosovo Peacekeeping Force (KFOR) is under investigation.
Kosovo Serbs announced on Saturday that they were withdrawing from their duties in Kosovo institutions, and held a protest yesterday.
THEY HAVE COMMANDED THE ARMY
The Serbian side, on the other hand, announced last week that an aircraft identified near the city of Raska on the Kosovo border was destroyed, and Vucic said that they would not allow spying on military barracks in Serbia.
Serbian Defense Minister Milos Vucevic also announced that Vucic had ordered the army to be ready due to possible tensions with Kosovo.
KOSOVO-SERBIA TENSION
The Kosovo government, in line with the principle of reciprocity to Serbia at the end of July, regarding the “issuance of temporary declaration forms to those entering/exiting Kosovo with Serbian identity cards” and “conversion of license plates issued by Serbian authorities to Serbs in Kosovo to ‘RKS’ (Republic of Kosovo) plates”. announced that the decisions would come into effect.
The Serbs in Kosovo, reacting to this, closed the border crossings in the north of the country and the tension in the country increased. The Kosovo government decided to postpone the implementation, which caused the crisis, until 1 September, provided that all the barricades that were put on the roads leading to the border gates with Serbia are removed.
The Kosovo side announced that the re-registration process of license plates, which they described as “illegal”, was postponed to April 2023, that the owners of these vehicles will be warned first, then fined, and finally the test plates will be placed.
While the warning measure to vehicle owners started to be implemented as of November 1, Kosovo Serbs reiterated that they would not accept the license plate application.
On the other hand, Serbia considers Kosovo, which declared its independence unilaterally in 2008, as its territory.
The Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Process, initiated in 2011 under the mediation of the EU, aims to normalize relations and ultimately recognize each other between the two countries. (AA)