Belgrade: Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced late on Wednesday that the Serbs would start removing their barricades in Kosovo on Thursday. It could ease tensions that have fueled concerns about further fighting in the Balkans.
According to Vucic, the decision was made during a late-night crisis meeting with Kosovo Serb leaders. It followed the release of a former Kosovo Serb policeman whose detention sparked a serious conflict between Serbia and Kosovo that alarmed the rest of the world. He has been placed under house arrest and ordered to be released from jail.
This indicates that the removal of barricades will begin in the morning hours of tomorrow (Thursday),” Vucic said as he left the meeting. It is not an easy process, and it cannot be completed in two hours. as some thought.
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The barricades would be removed "within 24 to 48 hours", Vucic promised. However, mistrust remains. Following the arrest of Dejan Pantic on 10 December, Kosovo Serbs protested by setting up several roadblocks in the north of the country.
Pantic was detained for "terrorism", after allegedly assaulting a Kosovo police officer during an earlier protest. Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti criticized the court's choice to place Pantic under house arrest.
During a press conference, Kurti said, "I am curious to know who is the prosecutor who makes the request and the judge who approves the decision of permanent arrest of someone on terrorism charges."
After Pantic was taken into custody, a tense standoff ensued for several weeks, during which journalists and KFOR patrols were in close proximity to gunfire and explosions. No one was seriously hurt.
Finally, Serbia increased the combat readiness of its troops on the Kosovo border and demanded an end to "aggressions" against Serbs in Kosovo.
NATO-led peacekeeping forces stationed in Kosovo have been asked to remove roadblocks, and Kosovo has made it clear that if the peacekeeping forces do not act, Pristina's forces will.
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Since a separatist conflict that erupted in 1998–1999 saw Serbia lose control of what was then one of the provinces, some 4,000 NATO-led peacekeepers have been stationed in Kosovo.
Authorities in Kosovo advised thousands of foreigners traveling to Kosovo on holiday from European countries to avoid using that border crossing and use others instead, as Serbs closed one of the main roads from Serbia to Kosovo late Tuesday. One was blocked.
Kurti announced that the construction of barricades on public roads is an illegal, unacceptable act which will not be tolerated. "Of course, time is running out fast, but we have given KFOR the time and space it needs to function," he added.
In a joint statement issued on Wednesday, the United States and the European Union expressed concern over the situation.
The State Department and the European Union issued a statement urging all parties to act with extreme restraint, take immediate action to unconditionally de-escalate the situation, and refrain from incitement, threats, or intimidation.
Additionally, it stated that the two parties were cooperating "to find a political solution" and "to agree on a course of action" with Kosovo's Kurti and Serbia's Vucic.
The statement welcomed assurances from Kosovo's leaders that there is no list of Kosovo Serbs who should be detained or charged for participating in peaceful demonstrations or erecting barricades.
Nevertheless, the rule of law must be upheld, and violence in any form is unacceptable and will not be tolerated, it stressed.
According to the German government, tensions in northern Kosovo are "very worrying".
Berlin-based Foreign Ministry spokesman Christoffer Berger said the situation must be resolved as soon as possible, and that yesterday's blockade of the Merdare border crossing on the Serbian border only made things worse.
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While tensions persist, the French Foreign Ministry issued a warning to anyone traveling close to the Serbia-Kosovo border to exercise the "greatest caution" and to avoid gatherings.
In 2008, Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia. Serbia's refusal to recognize Kosovo's statehood has thwarted Western efforts to mediate talks to normalize relations between the two.