Belgrade, Serbia –
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said late Wednesday that the Serbs will start removing their barricades in Kosovo on Thursday, in a move that could ease tensions that have raised fears of renewed clashes in the Balkans.
The deal was reached in a late-night crisis meeting with Kosovar Serb leaders, Vucic said.
It followed the release of a former Kosovo Serb police officer, whose detention triggered a major crisis between Serbia and Kosovo that sparked international concerns. He has been ordered released from prison and placed under house arrest.
“That means that starting tomorrow (Thursday), starting in the morning, the erection of barricades will begin,” Vucic said after the meeting. “This is not a simple process, and it cannot be done in two hours, as some imagined.”
“Within 24 to 48 hours the barricades will be removed,” Vucic said. “But mistrust does not go away.”
The December 10 arrest of the former officer, Dejan Pantic, sparked protests by Kosovar Serbs who erected multiple barricades in the north of the country.
Pantic was detained on “terrorism” charges after allegedly assaulting a Kosovo police officer during a previous protest.
Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti criticized the court’s decision to release Pantic under house arrest.
“I am curious to know who is the prosecutor who makes a request and the judge who approves the decision to put someone under house arrest when he has a terrorism charge,” Kurti told a news conference.
Pantic’s arrest sparked weeks of tense clashes, punctuated by gunfire and explosions near patrols of the NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping force and journalists. No one was seriously injured.
Ultimately, Serbia raised the combat readiness of its troops on the Kosovo border, demanding an end to “attacks” against the Kosovar Serbs.
Kosovo has called on NATO-led peacekeepers stationed there to remove the barriers and hinted that Pristina forces would do so if peacekeepers did not react. Some 4,000 NATO-led peacekeepers have been stationed in Kosovo since the 1998-99 breakaway war ended when Serbia lost control of what was then one of its provinces.
On Tuesday night, Serbs blocked one of the main roads from Serbia to Kosovo, at the Merdare border crossing, prompting the Kosovo authorities to call in thousands of expatriates heading to Kosovo for holidays from countries Europeans to avoid that crossing and use others.
“Building roadblocks is an illegal and unacceptable act that will not be tolerated,” Kurti said. “We have given KFOR the necessary time and space to act, but of course this time is running out fast,” he warned.
The United States and the European Union expressed concern about the situation in a joint statement on Wednesday.
“We call on everyone to exercise maximum restraint, take immediate action to unconditionally de-escalate the situation, and refrain from provocation, threat or intimidation,” said the statement issued by the State Department and the EU.
He added that both sides were working with Serbia’s Vucic and Kosovo’s Kurti “to find a political solution… and agree on the way forward.”
The statement welcomed what it said were assurances from Kosovo’s leaders that there are no lists of Kosovar Serbs to be arrested or prosecuted for peaceful protests or erecting barricades.
“At the same time, the rule of law must be respected and any form of violence is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” he stressed.
The German government said it is “very concerned” about tensions in northern Kosovo.
“The illegal barricades erected by the Kosovar Serbs must be taken down as quickly as possible, and yesterday’s blockade of the Merdare border crossing on the Serb side further exacerbates the situation,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Christofer Burger said in Berlin. .
The French Foreign Ministry on Wednesday warned any traveler near the Serbia-Kosovo border to exercise “the greatest vigilance” and avoid gatherings while tensions last.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Western attempts to broker a negotiated settlement to normalize relations between the two have failed, and Serbia refuses to recognize Kosovo’s statehood.