The Kremlin is concerned about the aggravation of the situation in Kosovo

The Kremlin is concerned about the development of the situation in Serbia. This was announced by the press secretary of the President Dmitry Peskov.

He noted that the Kremlin supports Serbia and the Serbs, and believes that all the rights and interests of the Kosovo Serbs must be respected. “There should be no place for any provocative actions that infringe on the rights of the Serbs. And, of course, we are watching very carefully how the situation develops. We are concerned about this,” Peskov said.

Russia is in constant communication with Serbia through diplomatic channels, Peskov added. When asked if contacts between the presidents are planned, he said that “no at the highest level.”

Peskov asked not to trust “unconditionally” statements that the agreement between Kosovo and Serbia will be implemented because the EU is participating in it. “We need to be very careful, because in the past there were many cases when, let’s say, obligations were not fulfilled. We can just speak by our own example,” the spokesman said.

Peskov recalled that the document signed with the former President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of European States in 2014 became “a screen for a coup in this country” and “an illegal change of power”, while the obligations remained on paper. “There were other cases that we can well recall. Therefore, of course, we hope that everyone who can will influence this situation in a positive way. But, of course, here we are monitoring this very carefully,” Peskov added.

Another aggravation of the situation in the north of Kosovo and Metohija occurred on May 26. In the Serb-majority municipalities of Zubin Potok, Zvecan and Leposavić, protests began over the results of the last elections, which were won by the Albanians. Serbian protesters demanded the cancellation of the results and the resignation of the heads of municipalities. In response, the Kosovo police fired tear gas and stun grenades in some municipalities. As a result of the clashes, 52 Serbs and 41 KFOR peacekeepers were injured.

On the same day, the Serbian army was given in full combat readiness and advanced to the administrative border with Kosovo. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić gave the order to do so. At the Russian Foreign Ministry condemned actions of the Kosovo authorities in connection with “new anti-Serb provocations”. The EU and NATO called on the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo to stop the escalation.

May 30 became knownthat NATO will send an additional 700 troops to Kosovo and raise the level of readiness of another battalion so that it can be sent if necessary.