Russia on Saturday blamed the United States and the European Union (EU) for the “Pristina provocations” and condemned Kosovo’s use of force to force mayors’ access to three locations blocked by the Serbian minority.
Kosovan police on Friday used tear gas and non-lethal grenades to disperse Serb protesters trying to block entry to the Albanian-majority mayors of Zvecan, Zubin Potok and Leposavic, elected in April elections that were boycotted by the community .
Policia përleshet me protestuesit në Zveçan
Policia and Kosovo’s hodhi gaz lotjellës dhe shok-bomba për të shpërndarë një group qytetarësh që u mblodh në Zveçan, për të penguar kryetarin and sapozgjedhur shqiptar të hyrë në zyrën e ti.
More information: https://t.co/KifhCXGfdw pic.twitter.com/GY8CM97MgR
– Radio Evropa and Lirë (@evropaelire) May 26, 2023
Local media reported clashes between police and Serbs, a minority in Kosovo but the majority in the north of the country.
Serbs in North Kosovo do not recognize the authority of these mayors, who were elected in elections that had a three percent turnout due to the Serbian boycott.
“In Pristina, this barbaric act, clearly intended to continue the ethnic cleansing of Serbs, is being misleadingly presented as proof of the good intentions of the authorities,” Russian diplomacy spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the Russian Foreign Ministry website. Affairs.
The spokeswoman added that the deteriorating situation in Kosovo is a direct result of a “malicious approach, exposing the western neo-colonial position in the Balkans”.
“We have repeatedly warned that US and EU representatives are not peacemakers, but instigators of conflict, undermining the international legal foundations of the Kosovo agreement and delaying a mutually acceptable solution, which is only possible on the basis of Resolution 1244 of the UN Security Council. UN”, declared Zakharova.
Moscow, the spokeswoman added, strongly condemns Pristina’s provocative actions, which “bring the situation to a tense stage and pose a direct threat to the security of the entire Balkan region”.
France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States, guarantors of the peacekeepers in Kosovo, on Friday condemned the use of force by Kosovo authorities.
At the same time, the five western powers expressed concern over Serbia’s decision to raise the alert level of its troops on the border with Kosovo.
Kosovo, a former Serbian province populated by a large majority of Albanians, declared its independence in 2008, which Serbia does not recognize.
Source: DN
