The removal of the roadblocks came after the Kosovo government postponed the implementation of a decision that would have required Serbs, who are a majority in the north, to apply for documents and car registration plates issued by Kosovo institutions. The situation has reignited rifts with Serbia and Russia, neither of which recognize Western-aligned Kosovo as an independent state and have blocked its efforts to join the United Nations. Kosovo, recognized as a nation by more than 100 countries, is seeking to join NATO. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register The government’s decision to postpone follows consultations with the US and EU ambassadors. “Violence will not be tolerated. Those who use violence will be punished by the rule of law with the force of law,” Prime Minister Albin Kurti told reporters on Monday. He said that a total of nine barricades have been erected. It was not immediately clear how many of the barricades were removed. A Reuters reporter said a bridge near the Brniak border crossing remained blocked in the afternoon. Most of the roadblocks were removed by 1:30 p.m. (11:30 GMT), but the border crossing had not yet reopened.
DEFINITELY DIFFERENTIAL
Fourteen years after Kosovo declared independence from Serbia, some 50,000 Serbs in the north still use license plates and documents issued by Serbian authorities, refusing to recognize the Kosovo government. A general view shows trucks blocking a road in Rudare, Kosovo, August 1, 2022. REUTERS/Fatos Bytyci NOT FOR SALE. NO FILES. read more Serbs had parked heavy machinery, including trucks full of gravel, on roads near the border with Serbia on Sunday in protest at the new policy, which the government agreed to delay until September 1. After that date, local Serbs will have 60 days to switch to Kosovo license plates and accept documents issued at the border for Serbian citizens, including those living in Kosovo without local forms. “Now, thank God, some escalation has been avoided overnight, but this situation has only been delayed for 1 month,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday. Tensions with Serbia remain high and Kosovo’s fragile peace is maintained by NATO’s KFOR mission, which has 3,770 troops on the ground. The mission issued a statement on Sunday that it was ready to intervene in accordance with its mandate if stability was threatened. Italian peacekeepers were visible in and around the then northern city of Mitrovica on Sunday. A Reuters eyewitness saw KFOR helicopters flying over northern Kosovo, which borders Serbia. Peacekeepers were also present as the barricades were dismantled, standing on the side of the road and chatting with residents. Earlier on Monday, the government began issuing additional documents to Serbian citizens at the largest border crossing between Serbia and Kosovo, Merdare. The Kosovo government has said it will stop issuing the documents once the roadblocks are removed. A year ago, after local Serbs blocked the same roads in another row over traffic signs, the Kosovo government deployed special police forces and Belgrade flew fighter jets near the border. Serbia and Kosovo committed in 2013 to a European Union-sponsored dialogue to try to resolve outstanding issues, but little progress has been made. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report Fatos Bytyci? Ivana Sekularac writes. Edited by Kirsten Donovan and Frank Jack Daniel Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
