Serbian president calls for removal of Kosovo barricades after US, EU guarantees

BELGRADE, Serbia

Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic has called on Serbs to remove barricades erected in northern Kosovo after being assured by the US and EU that there will be no arrests, an official said on Wednesday.

Serbia has received guarantees from the US and EU that there is no arrest list for Serbs who took part in the protests and setting up barricades, said Petar Petkovic, head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, a coordination body of the Serbian government.

No person will face any sort of criminal prosecution for the protests, he said.

“At the moment, we have managed to preserve peace when we were on the verge of a serious conflict and bloodshed,” said Petkovic.

“We are now waiting to hear the decision of Serbs in northern Kosovo.”

Vucic is also expected to hold talks with representatives of Serbs in Kosovo in the coming hours.

Tensions between Kosovo and Serbia have escalated since the Dec. 10 detention of former Serbian police officer Dejan Pantic on suspicion of attacking election officials.

Protesting Pantic’s arrest, Kosovo Serbs have been standing guard at barricades they set up at border crossings since Dec. 10.

Two new barricades were set up after Kosovar authorities blocked Serbian Patriarch Porfirije from entering the country from ahead of Orthodox Christmas celebrations.

Kosovo, predominantly inhabited by Albanians, broke from Serbia in 1999 and declared independence in 2008. But Serbia has not recognized the move and sees its former province as part of its territory.

The EU, NATO and the US have called for de-escalation and the removal of barricades in northern Kosovo, while Serbia has requested to deploy its army and police based on a UN resolution.

• Serbia