"A will say thank you to Russia countless times for the support it provides to us.(...). I thank them for the political support, I thank China, I thank India. I am grateful to them all," the Serbian leader said
©Russian Foreign Ministry Press Office/TASS
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic thanked Russia for its political support on the Kosovo and Metohija issue amid rising tensions in the region.
"I will say thank you to Russia countless times for the support it provides to us," he said in an interview with Pink ahead of a meeting with the residents of Kosovo and Metohija. "I thank them for their political support. I thank China and I thank India. I am grateful to them all," the Serbian leader added.
Vucic noted that Belgrade had to hold talks on deescalating the conflict with Western countries, that is, "with those who are on the side of the unrecognized Kosovo." "We aren’t in talks with impartial people. They are the people who fail to comply with (United Nations Security Council) Resolution 1244, who bombed this country, destroying it.
However, we talk to them because they have their forces in Kosovo and Metohija," the Serbian president stressed.
Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov pointed out earlier that Moscow was keeping a close eye on the situation around Kosovo and supported Serbia’s actions on the issue.
Tensions in Kosovo spiraled on December 6, when special forces of this unrecognized territorial entity, accompanied by patrols from the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX), began to seize the premises of election commissions in northern Kosovo and Metohija. The Serbian population spontaneously organized resistance to the Kosovars, who fled across the Ibar River.
On December 8, about 350 police officers from Kosovo entered the Serb-populated north of the province in armored vehicles and blocked the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica. On December 10, Kosovo police in Kosovska Mitrovica arrested Dejan Pantic, a former Serb police officer. In response, the Serbian population took to the streets to protest and blocked the roads in several communities.
Tension soars as main Kosovo-Serbia crossing closed
Kosovo's biggest border crossing with Serbia was closed today as months of tensions again flared, prompting Washington and Brussels to urge an immediate de-escalation of tensions.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade has refused to recognise it and encouraged Kosovo's 120,000 ethnic Serbs to defy Pristina's authority - especially in the north where ethnic Serbs make up the majority.
The latest trouble erupted on 10 December, when ethnic Serbs put up barricades to protest the arrest of an ex-policeman suspected of being involved in attacks against ethnic Albanian police officers - effectively sealing off traffic on two border crossings.
After the roadblocks were erected, Kosovar police and international peacekeepers were attacked in several shooting incidents, while the Serbian armed forces were put on heightened alert this week.
But a Pristina court has ordered that the former police officer, Dejan Pantic, be released from prison and placed under house arrest, a spokeswoman said.
The move could hint at a calming of the situation as ethnic Serbs cited his arrest as the main reason for erecting the barricades.
Late yesterday, dozens of demonstrators on the Serbian side of the border used trucks and tractors to halt traffic leading to Merdare, the biggest crossing between the neighbours - a move which forced Kosovo police to close the entry point yesterday.
"Such an illegal blockade has prevented the free movement and circulation of people and goods, therefore we invite our citizens and compatriots to use other border points for circulation," a Kosovo police statement said.
Pristina also asked NATO-led peacekeepers to clear the barricades that were erected on Kosovo soil.
US, EU urge de-escalation
Meanwhile, the European Union and the United States voiced concern over the situation and urged its immediate de-escalation.
"We call on everyone to exercise maximum restraint, to take immediate action to unconditionally de-escalate the situation, and to refrain from provocations, threats, or intimidation," they said in a joint statement.
The EU and US said they were working with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti to seek a political solution to one of the worst flare-ups in years in northern Kosovo.
Earlier yesterday, Serbian Defence Minister Milos Vucevic said that Belgrade was "ready for a deal", but did not elaborate.
Mr Vucevic described the roadblocks as a "democratic and peaceful" means of protest and added that Serbia has "an open line of communication" with Western diplomats on resolving the issue.
"We are all worried about the situation and where all this is going... Serbia is ready for a deal," Ms Vucevic told state-controlled public broadcaster RTS.
Russia backs ally Serbia
Northern Kosovo has been on edge since November when hundreds of ethnic Serb workers in the Kosovo police as well as the judicial branch, including judges and prosecutors, walked off the job.
They were protesting a controversial decision to ban Serbs living in Kosovo from using Belgrade-issued vehicle licence plates - a policy that was eventually scrapped by Pristina.
The mass walkouts created a security vacuum in Kosovo, which Pristina tried to fill by deploying ethnic Albanian police officers in the region.
Russia voiced support yesterday for its ally Serbia and said it was "very closely" following the developments while Germany warned against heightened military presence near the Kosovo border.
"We support Belgrade in all the actions that are being taken," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters yesterday.
He added however that "Serbia is a sovereign country and it is fundamentally wrong to look for some kind of destructive influence of Russia here".
According to Peskov, "Serbia is defending the rights of Serbs who live nearby in difficult conditions. Naturally they react harshly when these rights are violated."
The EU and several international ambassadors this week condemned four recent attacks against journalists who were covering the flare-up.
Kosovo's 1.8 million population is predominantly ethnic Albanian.
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