The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the actions of the Kosovo authorities against the Serbs

Russia condemns the actions of the authorities of partially recognized Kosovo in connection with “new anti-Serb provocations”, stated Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

“On May 26, the provisional self-government bodies in Pristina carried out a forcible seizure of the administrative buildings of the municipalities of Zvecan, Zubin Potok and Leposavić. The action was accompanied by a brutal dispersal of the Serbs who came out to peacefully protest with the help of tear gas, stun grenades and police batons, ”the press service of the Foreign Ministry quotes Zakharova as saying.

According to her, as a result of taking control of the municipalities, the premises “housed the so-called “winners” of the caricatured pseudo-elections held on April 23,” boycotted by 96.5% of voters.

Zakharova also mentioned the West, which, in her assessment, “played along with the regional authorities” of Kosovo. “They encouraged their anti-Serb policy, in fact, reduced the dialogue of the parties to the consistent infringement of the interests of Belgrade. The degradation of the situation in Kosovo is a direct consequence of such a malicious approach,” the representative stressed.

On May 26, protests broke out outside the municipalities of North Mitrovica, Zubin Potok, Zvecan and Leposavić, whose population is Serb-majority, but where, despite low turnout, Albanians were elected. Serbian protesters demanded the annulment of the election results and the resignation of the heads of municipalities. In response, the Kosovo police fired tear gas and stun grenades in some municipalities.

After that, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić led army on maximum alert because of the elections in Kosovo. Later Serbian Minister of Defense Miloš Vučević confirmed advance of troops to the borders with Kosovo.

Researcher at the Institute for International Studies at MGIMO Anastasia Maleshevich told Vedomosti that the authorities in Pristina not only made no fundamental progress in the formation of a community of Serbian municipalities, but also escalated.

She noted that elections were held in the Serbian-majority northern municipalities and, despite the boycott by the Serbs and a turnout of 3.5%, such elections were recognized by Western countries, which contradicts the logic of the settlement between the Serbian and Kosovo authorities.