Early on Monday, ethnic Serbs blocked roads and engaged in other incidents in the north, ostensibly in a dispute over vehicle license plates and identity cards, prompting the Kosovo government to accuse Serbia, which borders Kosovo, of attempting to destabilize the nation.
Kosovo officials had decided to reinstate the custom of requiring cars coming from Serbia to change their license plates to Kosovo plates. Serbia requires all vehicles leaving Kosovo and entering Serbia to be in reverse.
Kosovo also intends to prevent its ethnic Serb minority from crossing the border solely with Serbian identity cards.
In a statement, the Kosovo government claimed that numerous “aggressive acts,” including shooting and road blocking in the northern regions dominated by ethnic Serbs, were committed on Sunday and blamed Serbia for inciting them.
The “reciprocity” license plate and identity card plan have been delayed for a month, until September 1, the government announced, following discussions with European and American partners.
Kosovo was formerly a part of Serbia until an armed uprising by the ethnic Albanian majority on the territory in 1998–1999 sparked a brutal crackdown by Serbs. The war was put to an end by a NATO bombing campaign that drove Serbian troops out of Kosovo. Serbia, however, has refused to accept Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia.
President Vjosa Osmani and Prime Minister Albin Kurti attributed the protests to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
Kurti stated on Facebook that “Vucic and (Petar) Petkovic are the main responsible persons for the riots.” Petkovic is the representative of Belgrade in charge of Kosovo.
On Facebook, Osmani added that “Vucic’s efforts to destabilize Kosovo” would be unsuccessful.
In response, Vucic argued that the current state of affairs was the most complicated ever and attributed the rising hostilities over license plates and identification cards to Kosovo.
Kurti is attempting to be viewed in the same way as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to him, and is “taking advantage of the mood in the world where they think they can play cards,” he claimed.
According to Vukic, Kosovo cannot prevent its ethnic Serb citizens from using Serbian identification documents to cross the border.
Keeping an eye on the “tense” situation in northern Kosovo, the NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo said it was “prepared to intervene if stability is jeopardized.”
According to its UN mandate, the force promised to “take whatever measures are necessary to maintain a safe and secure environment in Kosovo at all times.”
The mission, which consists of 3,800 soldiers from 28 different nations, is overseen by NATO with assistance from the European Union, the United Nations, and other organizations.
