Prime Minister of Kosovo Warns of an Imminent War with Serbia

Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti said that a risk of a new conflict between Kosovo and Serbia is high, Italian daily La Repubblica reported on August 7.

Two crossings along the Kosovo-Serbia border were reopened to traffic on October 2 as ethnic Serbian protesters removed vehicles, Kosovar special police units withdrew, and NATO troops moved in as part of an EU-mediated deal to defuse a tense standoff sparked by a dispute over vehicle license plates.

Serbia does not recognize Kosovo's independence and therefore its right to impose rules and regulations such as registering cars and trucks.

The Prime Minister of Kosovo pointed to next week's meeting of the European Union in Brussels and expressed hope that this meeting would reduce the tension in the region.

The pullout of Kosovo special police units, cars, and trucks at the Jarinje and Brnjak crossings was completed at around 3 p.m. local time with no incidents reported, putting an end to a potentially explosive situation pitting Kosovar Albanian and Serbian communities against one another.

Tensions between Belgrade and Pristina are on the rise following Kosovo’s decision not to recognize Serbian ID documents and licence plates. Kosovo and Serbia have a history of tense relations following Kosovo’s independence war, which ended with Nato strikes on Serbia in 1999 and Pristina’s secession from Serbia in 2008. Russia is one of the biggest supporters of Serbia.