US and EU call for urgent de-escalation in Kosovo

The US and the EU called on all parties to the “tense situation” in Kosovo to immediately de-escalate, should from a joint statement by US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedanth Patel and European Commission spokesperson Nabila Massrali.

“We call on everyone to exercise maximum restraint, take immediate action to unconditionally de-escalate the situation and refrain from provocation, threats or intimidation,” the statement said.

The statement said that work is already underway with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti to find a political solution to defuse tensions and agree on a path forward for the stability, security and well-being of all local communities.

“We welcome assurances from the Kosovo leadership confirming that there are no lists of Kosovo Serb citizens to be arrested or prosecuted for peaceful protests/barricades. At the same time, the rule of law must be respected and any form of violence is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”

Tensions in the region escalated on 10 December after an ethnic Serb and former Kosovo police officer, Dejan Pantić, was detained at the Jarine checkpoint for an alleged attack on an electoral commission. The Serbian population in response began to erect barricades, blocking the passage along the highway in several settlements near the checkpoint, and went to protests. One of the goals of this action was to prevent the transfer of Pantic to Pristina.

Patrols from the EU mission in Kosovo (EULEX) and members of the NATO-led international security forces in Kosovo and Metohija (KFOR) were then deployed to the barricades. The head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, warned that the EU would not tolerate attacks on its mission and demanded that the Kosovo Serbs “immediately remove the barricades.” Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said that he had appealed to the NATO KFOR mission about the barricades erected by the Serbs, and added that he was waiting for an answer until the evening of December 11, after which he promised to dismantle them on his own. After that, Vucic called an emergency meeting of the country’s Security Council. He also gave the order to bring the troops to the highest degree of combat readiness.