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Kurti: The Serbian army has left the border with Kosovo

2024-03-22 18:37:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, said on Friday that the Serbian army has left the border with Kosovo, after it "came to provoke us" on Thursday.

"It is not normal for those military vehicles to arrive just a few meters away from the border. I am satisfied that they are not today, they were not until 16.00", said Kurti speaking at a press conference in Pristina.

He said that the Kosovar authorities registered their movement along the Kosovar border, but "we did nothing".

"We were careful, we were watching to see if they would cross the border, but they didn't cross the border," he added. Kurti said that for the first time on Thursday shortly before midnight, the Serbian army was seen moving a few meters away from the border with Kosovo, describing them as "intentional provocations".

Earlier on Friday, the Ministry of Defense of Serbia rejected Kurti's statements, calling them "disinformation campaigns for the Serbian army".

She said that the Serbian army forces "are carrying out their duties in the safe administrative zone, in accordance with all the signed agreements".

Earlier in the day, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia, James O'Brien, said that the United States is monitoring the movements of the Serbian army near the border with Kosovo and that it has informed Serbia that the use of force will was unacceptable.

"In Serbia, the president [of Serbia, Aleksandar] Vu?i? knows very well that any use of force against Kosovo would be unacceptable, it would be considered endangering NATO forces, which are there to protect the population, Albanians and Serbs . He has said that there will be no use of force," said O'Brien.

Meanwhile, NATO's peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, KFOR, told Radio Free Europe on Friday that the security situation in Kosovo is "calm but fragile," and called on Kosovo and Serbia to refrain from escalating rhetoric and separator. Asked about Prime Minister Kurti's statement, KFOR said that "our goal is to stop the escalation and we are ready and equipped to take all measures to fulfill our UN mandate, to ensure a safe environment for all people living in Kosovo, as well as free movement".

"We have also tripled the number of patrols, including on the administrative border line", said KFOR.

Tensions between Kosovo and Serbia escalated in September last year, when a group of armed Serbs attacked the Kosovo Police in the northern Kosovo village of Banjska, killing a police sergeant.

Three Serb attackers were killed in the ensuing firefight.

Kosovo has accused Serbia of having a hand in this attack and of trying to annex the north of Kosovo, but this has been denied by the official Belgrade.

The responsibility for the attack was taken by Millan Radoicic, the former vice-president of Lista Serbe, the largest Serbian party in Kosovo which enjoys the support of Belgrade./ Rel