The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, warned of Russia's inciting of tension in the relations between his country and Serbia due to the fact that the war in Ukraine continues unsuccessfully for Moscow. The Guardian writes about it.
Ethnic Serbs in the north of Kosovo, where they are the majority, have been erecting barricades for more than a week, preventing the free movement of representatives of the Kosovo authorities, despite calls from the US and the EU to eliminate illegal roadblocks.
Due to the growing risk of violent clashes, Serbian President Oleksandr Vucic exercised his right granted to him by the UN resolution and asked NATO to authorize the deployment of 1,000 police and military personnel, citing the need to protect Serbian communities.
Serbia's request on Friday, the first since the end of the Kosovo war in 1999, is almost certain to be rejected, but there are concerns that it could be the first step towards a unilateral decision to deploy forces.
Kurti said he was concerned the tense situation could escalate in Vladimir Putin's favor as Russian and Serbian forces held 104 joint military exercises in 2021.
The Kosovo leader added that he had agreed to give NATO-led forces time to convince those at the barricades to back down, but they could not be allowed to remain at the barricades any longer.
"Our concern is that the removal of these barricades cannot exclude victims. And so we want to be as careful as possible to make sure that there is no destabilization and relative peace and security is established. But we cannot allow this to be a violation of the rule of law and constitutionalism has been going on forever. So, yes, it has to end, and the sooner the better," Kurti said.
According to him, the EU and the USA agree that the barricades should be removed.
"I think their main concern is this: now that Russia has suffered major defeats in Ukraine after its invasion and aggression, it is interested in outsourcing its war-mongering in the Balkans, where they have a client based in Belgrade." Kurti said.