Kosovo Serbs call on Serbia to suspend EU-led dialogue with Kosovo

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Kosovo Serbs on Saturday called on Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to suspend ongoing dialogue process for the normalization of relations with Kosovo, whose 2008 independence neighboring Serbia has never recognized.

The move came after police in Kosovo clashed with local Serbs who gathered in front of the municipal building to block the newly elected ethnic Albanian mayor from entering his office.

Representatives of the local Serbs from the northern Kosovo said Serbia should suspend the EU-facilitated dialogue until all militarized Albanian units of Kosovo police are fully withdrawn from the north and mayors depart from municipal buildings.

The demands came in an emergency press conference organized by the Serb List, the largest Serbian party in Kosovo.

Albanians are Kosovo’s main ethnic group, but it has a sizeable Serb minority, especially to the north, bordering Serbia.

During clashes, stun grenades and tear gas injured at least 10 people after a police vehicle was set on fire and automatic gunfire was heard, according to media reports.

Police in riot gear were deployed around the premises, along with the EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo and NATO Kosovo Forces personnel.

Serbia ordered its army Friday to advance to the administrative border with Kosovo and urged NATO to urgently stop violence against local Serbs in Kosovo.

Vucic urged the army and security forces to be combat ready.

Most UN member states, including the US, UK, France, Germany, and Türkiye, recognized Kosovo as a separate country after it declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Serbia, however, continues to regard it as its territory.