Belgrade Decries EU Call For Restraint After Pristina Deploys Forces To Kosovo's North

BELGRADE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th September, 2018) Marko Duric, the director of the Syrian government's office for Kosovo and Metohija, denounced on Saturday the European Union's reaction to the deployment of special forces of the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo in the vicinity of Belgrade-controlled areas.

Earlier in the day, about 60 members of the Kosovo special forces were deployed in the vicinity of Lake Gazivoda near Belgrade-controlled Gazivoda hydroelectric power station and entered the Center for Ecology and Development of sports near the Gazivoda Lake in Kosovo's north. The move made Serbia put its armed forces on high alert. European Commission spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic called on all parties to show restraint.

"As if the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija attacked their territory themselves, she calls on the parties to show restraint.

I believe it to be the climax of the indecency and unseriousness ...� in these grave circumstances. It once again shows that one should not expect much from EU representatives," Duric told reporters.

Following the incident, Pristina explained its actions by security measures connected with its leader Hashim Thachi's ride on the lake. The forces reportedly left the area soon after the trip.

In 2008, Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leadership unilaterally proclaimed independence from Serbia, which has never recognized the move. The self-proclaimed republic currently possesses recognition from more than 100 countries.