KOSOVO police said they have sent reinforcements to stop four senior Serb officials from visiting Kosovo’s north.
Serbia’s state Tanjug news agency said that the country’s defence minister, the chief Serb negotiator in the EU-mediated talks between Kosovo and Serbia, a senior aide of President Aleksandar Vucic and the country’s culture minister were all banned from entering Kosovo yesterday.
Earlier, Serbia said the visit would be held despite the decision by Kosovo authorities to prohibit their entry. Serb officials must seek official clearance from Kosovo’s authorities before any visit.
Kosovo’s foreign minister Behgjet Pacolli warned on his Facebook page that none of the senior Serb officials had permission to enter Kosovo.
“Whoever enters Kosovo illegally will get arrested!” he wrote.
Kosovo police said that the increased forces in the north are only “implementing the government’s decision and have no other goals”.
Serbia’s culture minister, Vladan Vukosavljevic, said he was stopped just before noon at a border crossing between Serbia and Kosovo, according to the Tanjug news agency. He told the agency the move by the Kosovo authorities was “senseless and wrong”.
Tanjug said Vukosavljevic was travelling to Kosovo to visit Serbian Orthodox Church monasteries located there.
“This decision presents a ... huge setback and it does not contribute to the overall situation,” Vukosavljevic said.
Tensions between Serbia and Kosovo have soared recently as the EU presses for a compromise between the two foes on a number of issues.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade does not recognise the split and is seeking to maintain influence in Kosovo’s north, where most of the country’s Serb minority is located.
It was not the only tense moment on Kosovo’s border with Serbia, which is controlled by Nato-led troops since an intervention in 1999 to stop a bloody Serbian crackdown against ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo.
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