RUSSIA STANDS BY SERBIA AS KOSOVO TENSIONS SOAR

Wed 28 December 2022:

The Kremlin declared on Wednesday that Russia “supports” its ally Serbia amid growing tensions between Serbia and neighboring Kosovo as a result of recent shootings and blockades.

“Russia is very closely following what is happening and how the rights of the Serbs are ensured,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

“We support Belgrade in all the actions that are being taken,” he said.

Peskov added however that “Serbia is a sovereign country and it is fundamentally wrong to look for some kind of destructive influence of Russia here”.

According to Peskov, “Serbia is defending the rights of Serbs who live nearby in difficult conditions. Naturally they react harshly when these rights are violated.”

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade has refused to recognise it and encouraged Kosovo’s 120,000 ethnic Serbs to defy Pristina’s authority — especially in the north where they make up the majority.

On Monday, President Aleksandar Vucic ordered the special armed forces to be bolstered and raised the alert level of the Serbian military forces to “the highest level.”

General Milan Mojsilovic, the army’s head, had been sent on Sunday to the Kosovo border when Vucic gave the orders.

Numerous times in recent years, the Serbian army has been placed on high alert due to tensions with Kosovo; the most recent instance was in November when it was said that numerous drones had infiltrated Serbian airspace from Kosovo.

On December 10, Serbs in northern Kosovo erected roadblocks to protest the detention of an ex-policeman who they believe was responsible for attacks on police personnel of ethnic Albanian descent.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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