
Russia on Monday denounced the «alarming» situation in Serb-majority northern Kosovo and accused the United States and its allies of forcing an open conflict.
«We are alarmed by the aggravation of the situation around Kosovo, in which the so-called authorities in Pristina are again deliberately whipping up tension in the face of passivity or even with the direct support of their sponsors in Washington and their European allies,» Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in remarks carried by the Russian news agency TASS.
Thus, Zakharova referred to the «provocations» of the «Kosovo Albanian radicals» with which «the West is deliberately forcing the situation into an open conflict».
The EU, authorized by the UN General Assembly to mediate between Belgrade and Pristina «is unwilling or unable to resolve the situation», while Belgrade «demonstrates a constructive stance and asks to solve the problems with dialogue and by implementing the pre-existing agreements», according to Zakharova.
Moscow has also supported the decision of the Kosovo Serbs to withdraw from Kosovar institutions, including the Police, in protest against Prinstina’s intention to impose Kosovar license plates and stop recognizing Serbian license plates and Pristina’s unwillingness to create the Community of Serb Municipalities provided for in the signed agreements.