Kosovo closes its main border crossing with Serbia

Kosovo It closed its main border crossing with Serbia, local police said Wednesday, after the Serbs erected barricades there in one of the worst crises in the region in recent years.

Since December 10, hundreds of Kosovar Serbs have erected barricades in northern Kosovo to protest against the arrest of a Serbian ex-policemanparalyzing traffic at two border crossings.

Kosovar police and international peacekeeping forces then came under several firearms attacks, while Serbia placed its armed forces on high alert.

“This illegal blockade prevents the free movement of people and goods, so we invite our citizens and compatriots to circulate through the other border crossings,” the police said in a statement.

The Kosovo government also asked the peacekeeping forces of the I’LL TAKE (KFOR) to dissolve the barricades.

Serbia does not recognize independence which declared in 2008 its former province, populated by a large majority of Albanians.

The country is encouraging Kosovo’s 120,000 Serbs to defy local authorities, as Pristina wants to establish sovereignty over the entire territory.

Serbian Defense Minister Milos VucevicHe declared on Wednesday that the road blockade is a “democratic and peaceful” means of protest and that his government is keeping its line of communication open with Western diplomats to resolve the crisis.

At the diplomatic level, the European Union and the United States on Wednesday urged Kosovo and Serbia to take “immediate” measures to reduce tensions.

“We call on everyone to exercise maximum restraint, take immediate action to unconditionally de-escalate the situation and refrain from provocation, threat or intimidation,” the EU and US said in a joint statement.

For his part, Russia He stated this Wednesday that he “supports” Serbia’s actions to end tensions. “We have very close, historical and spiritual allied relations with Serbia,” the Kremlin spokesman told reporters. Dmitry Peskov.