Serbia, troops on the border with Kosovo: Born worried. What is happening

Tension grows between Kosovo and Serbia. On November 1, the new legislation on the obligation to re-register cars with Serbian number plates came into force, which must be replaced with the Kosovar one bearing the RKS symbol. The provision, structured in four stages, provides for the final and mandatory deadline for the plate change on April 21, after which cars with Serbian plates will no longer be able to circulate on the territory of Kosovo

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Controls have been intensified since 1 November, in particular at the Jarinje and Brnjak border crossings with Serbia. From 21 November to 21 January to those who have not yet replaced the license plate one will be inflicted fine of 150 euros, while from 21 January to 21 April, Serbs will be able to use test plates. Until the end of October only a few dozen Serbs had agreed to re-register their cars, out of a total of about 9,000 vehicles with Serbian plates in circulation in Kosovo

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The EU and the US are insisting on asking Pristina for a ten-month postponement of the obligation to replace the number plates, which is also considered legitimate. Meanwhile, from the day the law came into force, they took off in Serbia MiG-29 fighter aircraft after some drones had carried out shots on two barracks in the security zone near the border with Kosovo. Then Belgrade continued to report the presence of spy drones in the security area near the border between Serbia and Kosovo

Kosovo-Serbia, I agree on the documents

However, Kosovar Defense Minister Armend Mehaj denied Belgrade’s claims about spy drones, stating that these aircraft did not come from the territory of Kosovo. It is, he said, “only a pretext to increase the presence of Serbian troops on the border with Kosovo”, and a way to spread panic among the Serbian population of Kosovo, Mehaj said.

In his opinion, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, with the history of drones, would try to destabilize the situation after the Pristina decision on the obligation to exchange Serbian car registration plates with the Kosovan one. On 2 November, the Serbian armed forces reportedly shot down one of the spy drones. On the border between Serbia and Albania, the defenses are strengthened

On November 3, the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, met with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti. According to the EU, the decision of the Pristina authorities represents “a step in the right direction”, but “it is not in line with the agreements of dialogue, binding on both sides “. The” license plate crisis “, which cyclically rekindles tensions between Belgrade and Pristina, has pushed the Born last August a strengthen patrols in Kosovo

In reality, Kosovo, a former Serbian province with an Albanian majority, declared independence in 2008, but Belgrade does not recognize it. Kosovar Foreign Minister Donika Gervalla accused Serbia of wanting “increase tensions with a false military operation “. This is “a new fake Vucic operation to increase tensions,” Gervalla said. According to him, there is no threat to Serbia

On the contrary, for Gervalla, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic – like Slobodan Milosevic in his time – want cause a conflict. For the foreign minister, it is no longer 1991, 1996 or 1999, we are now in 2022 and “Kosovo is independent, with NATO and the US defending peace in the Balkans”

Serbia cannot tolerate anyone implementing espionage activities borne by its barracks and military installations. Speaking on the sidelines of a military exercise he witnessed in the south of the country, Vucic he said they had previously been identified spy drones at barracks in Serbia. In any case, according to Serbian President Vucic, Belgrade’s first priority is to preserve peace and stability in the region