Serbian Defense Minister Milos Vucevic told Serbian Radio and Television (RTS) that “the army remains vigilant and will be deployed to the country’s border with Kosovo until 14:00 local time.”
Noting that they expect the problem in the region to be resolved through political means, Vucevic said that Serbian Chief of General Staff Milan Mojsilovic is in contact with the NATO Peace Force (KFOR) officials in Kosovo, which is responsible for protecting the security of Serbs in Kosovo.
Vucevic also noted that the Serbian army is ready to fulfill every order of President Aleksandar Vucic, who is also the commander-in-chief.
Serbian PM: The situation has never been more difficult
Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said, “The situation is very difficult and tense. In fact, the situation has never been more difficult.” made his assessment
Saying that KFOR was late in reacting, Brnabic said, “I have nothing good to say to our partners in the European Union and KFOR. They should have shown their reaction today on Friday. Our duty is to protect the peace and the Serbs in Kosovo.” said.
Brnabic announced that it is following the developments closely and that the public will be informed of every step to be taken.
Kosovo Serbs protest in the morning
Meanwhile, Serbs in northern Kosovo protested in front of the town halls in Zveçan, Zubin Potok and Leposavic this morning to block the inauguration of new Albanian mayors and enter the town halls.
Demanding that the Kosovo police withdraw from the municipal buildings and that the newly elected Albanian mayors do not start their duties, the Serbs tried to break through the police cordon and enter the municipal buildings.
Kosovo police and KFOR fenced off municipal buildings and increased staff numbers in the area.
Tensions in northern Kosovo
There was also a clash on May 26 between the Kosovo Serbs and the security forces, who opposed the appointment of the police in the municipalities of Leposavic, Zveçan and Zubin Potok, where mostly Serbs live in northern Kosovo. It was announced that 5 police officers were slightly injured and 4 team vehicles were damaged in the brawl.
It was stated that Serbian President Vucic ordered the army to “be ready” and that the members of the army moved to the Kosovo border.
The candidates of the Albanian political parties won the extraordinary local elections held in the region on April 23, while the elections were boycotted by the Kosovo Serbs, who constitute the majority in the region. Kosovo’s Central Election Commission announced that only 1,567 (3.47 percent) of the 45,095 registered voters in the region cast their votes.
Serbia-Kosovo relations
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 considers Kosovo, which declared its independence unilaterally in 2008, as its territory.
Serbia and Kosovo, which periodically clash, are trying to find a common way for the normalization of relations and eventually for the two countries to get to know each other, within the scope of the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Process initiated in 2011 under the mediation of the European Union.