New tensions arose this Sunday between Kosovo and SerbianHours after Pristina began enforcing a ban on Serbian documents and license plates in Kosovo, a move the Serbs have opposed.
Kosovo Police closed the border gates of Brnjak and Jarinje to traffic “due to the closure of the roads to their access”Police are deploying patrols in northern Kosovo, where the Serb minority is concentrated, according to a police statement collected by Kosovo radio station RTK.
Serbs against the new Pristina measures Barricades were erected on the roads leading from the Serb-dominated northern city of Mitrovica to the Jarinje and Brnjak border crossings.
Kosovo announced at the end of last June It will ban the use of identity documents and license plates from 1 August. Serbian in its territoryA decision similar to the one taken last September created a crisis that implied the two countries had increased their security forces at the border.
According to the new measures, those who enter Kosovo with identity cards issued by Serbia,Receive a temporary Kosovo document valid for 90 days for staying in the country.
In addition, car license plates issued by Serbia for Serb-dominated Kosovo cities will have to be replaced with official Kosovo license plates from 1 August and almost before 30 September.
Caused by a ban on driving with Serbian license plates in Kosovo last September Barricades of the Kosovo Serb minority.
Kosovo reacted by deploying special forces with armored and automatic weapons, and Serbia raised the alert level of its troops near the border.
The Serbian Government states that the aim of Pristina expel the Serbs from the north of the country and destabilize the situation.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic accused Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti on Sunday of “trying to impose unfair measures on Serbs in northern Kosovo”.
He assured that these measures were inconsistent with the agreements reached in the dialogue protected by the European Union (EU) between the two sides, and sought assistance from the West. “So that peace and security can be maintained”.
Since 2011, Kosovo and Serbia have been engaged in difficult and unsuccessful negotiations to normalize their relations.
Serbia’s former province of Kosovo, which Serbia does not recognize and declared independence in 2008. backed by United States of America and most EU partnersbut not by Russia, China, India, Brazil or Spain among other states.
Source: Informacion
