Russia avers full support for Serbia as border tensions flare up with Kosovo

Russia has declared its full support for Serbia as fresh tensions flared up between Belgrade and Kosovo insisting that the rights of Serbs must be upheld. In a statement, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, "We stand by Serbs living in Kosovo. We believe that [demands of Kosovo's authorities] are absolutely unfounded" referring to Kosovo's authorities' attempt to impose restrictions on Serbians entering the territory and living in the northern region. 

Peskov's remarks follow Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova echoing similar sentiments and urged Pristina to stop provocations and uphold the human rights of Serbs living in the northern region. She urged the United States and the European Union, who are supporting Kosovo, to practice restraint and observe the rights of ethnic Serbs living in Kosovo, but do not consider Pristina’s authority to impose ‘rules and regulations.

The tensions engulfed both sides after Kosovo announced new border rules for Serbs entering the country. Even though Kosovo declared independence in February 2008, the country is not recognised by Russia, China, Serbia, and The United Nations (UN) in general. However, over 100 nations recognise Kosovo’s sovereignty. The new border rules were set to come into effect on Monday but their implementation was delayed due to protests by Serbs in northern Kosovo who rejected Pristina’s move regarding licence plates and IDs. 

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Kosovo’s decision “to begin the use of ungrounded discriminatory ‘rules’ on mandatory change of identification documents and car plates of the local Serbs from August 1 is another step to oust the Serbian population from Kosovo, to squeeze out institutions of the Kosovo Serbs, which defend the rights of ethnic Serbs from the arbitrariness of the Pristina radicals led by ‘Prime Minister’ Albin Kurti”, according to Russian news agency TASS.

"The Kosovar leaders know that the Serbs will not stay indifferent when it comes to a direct attack on their freedom and are deliberately seeking to aggravate the situation to trigger a forced scenario. Naturally, Belgrade is at the forefront of the attack, since the West is seeking to ‘neutralize’ it by means of the Kosovo Albanians," she added.

Zakharova emphasised that such development is another evidence that the EU’s mediatory mission was unsuccessful. The Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson added, “It is also an example of what the European Union thinks about the role of Belgrade, which, as a matter of fact, is supposed to put up with the deprivation of rights of its compatriots”. 

Russia, Serbia’s ally is already facing a global backlash over its actions in Ukraine where President Vladimir Putin announced the “Special” military operation in Kyiv. Authorities in Kosovo have also accused Serbia of fomenting unrest and trying to undermine the “rule of law” and using a “textbook repetition of Putin’s playbook”.

Ukrainians asked to refrain from travelling to Serbia

Ukraine, which is already consumed with resisting the Russian military offensive for six months, has called on its citizens to avoid crowded places in the Serbia-Kosovo border region. In a statement, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry recommended its citizens use checkpoints on the border with North Macedonia “in case of further aggravation of the security situation and blocking of roads”. Even though Kosovo is recognised by several EU nations, Ukraine does not.

Image: AP