Serbian President: Pristina Officials Have Dispatched Police Special Forces to North Kosovo
Serbian military and armored vehicles near the road between the village of Raska and the Yarine checkpoint on the administrative line between central Serbia and northern Kosovo
BELGRADE (Sputnik) – Kosovar authorities have sent police special forces to its northern areas after failed negotiations with Belgrade on postponing Pristina’s controversial policy on car plates, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday.Earlier in the day, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell held a summit for Belgrade and Pristina amid the escalation in Kosovo, which was attended by Vucic, Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti and EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak. Vucic said later that no progress had been made at the meeting.“This evening, everything that they have from so-called Pristina police special forces has been sent to four different locations in the north of the area. To the Srbica-Zubin-Potok road and other places,” Vucic said in his address to the nation, adding that Kosovo will start handing out fines for Serbian car plates starting Tuesday.The Serbian president also noted that Pristina has been planning to use violence for months.Vucic further pledged to fully support Serbs in Kosovo.”If someone thinks that they can expel the Serbian people, kill and hurt our people, it is my job to remind them the same thing I have said many times with all seriousness and determination. And when I say this, unlike some others, I know what it means — we will be with our Serbian people and will not leave them in trouble,” Vucic said.He added that Serbia will act in accordance with international law, the UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (authorizing international military presence in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1999) and with the documents Western powers cite regarding the situation in Ukraine and other regions.
WorldSerbia’s Vucic Wary of Tensions in Kosovo After Pristina Enforces License Plate Policy20 November, 15:54 GMTThe Kosovo authorities require that local Serbs re-register their car plates, demanding that they feature the EU-standard letter code of RKS (Republic of Kosovo) instead of KM, the Serbian identifier for the disputed region of Kosovska Mitrovica on the border. The deadline for the re-registration was October 31.On August 27, Belgrade and Pristina reached an EU-brokered compromise deal on entry and exit regulations. Serbia agreed to abolish entry-exit documents for Kosovo ID holders, while Kosovo agreed not to introduce them for Serbian citizens. Belgrade maintains the move is only aimed at streamlining border crossing and does not mean that Serbia recognizes Kosovo’s independence.
