The Kremlin said Wednesday it «supports» measures taken by Serbia in the face of rising tensions in Kosovo and denied that Russia is playing any role in the crisis, after Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Monday ordered the army to be at the highest level of combat readiness.»
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Medvedev said that «Russia is closely following what is happening.» «Of course, we support Belgrade in the actions it is taking,» he said, before stressing that «Serbia is a sovereign country.»
«Serbia defends the rights of Serbs living in difficult conditions. Naturally, they react strongly when these rights are violated,» he argued, as reported by the Russian news agency Interfax.
The Kosovo Foreign Ministry has sent a letter to the member countries of the European Union to take measures against Serbia and to make it cooperate in the peaceful resolution of the tensions in the northern part of Kosovo. The document, as reported by the Dukagjini media, calls on the international community to encourage Serbia to return to dialogue.
Vucic said on Monday that his government would take «measures to protect» Serbs in Kosovo. In mid-December Serbia asked NATO to deploy 1,000 Serbian security troops in Kosovo, an unprecedented request, based on a United Nations resolution, and on which Vucic himself said he did not foresee the approval of the Atlantic Alliance.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
