Pristina Sends Police Special Forces To North Kosovo - Serbian President

BELGRADE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd November, 2022) Kosovar authorities have sent police special forces to its northern areas after failed negotiations with Belgrade on postponing Pristina's controversial policy on car plates, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday.

Earlier in the day, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell held a summit for Belgrade and Pristina amid the escalation in Kosovo, which was attended by Vucic, Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti and EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak. Vucic said later that no progress had been made at the meeting.

"This evening, everything that they have from so-called Pristina police special forces has been sent to four different locations in the north of the area. To the Srbica-Zubin-Potok road and other places," Vucic said in his address to the nation, adding that Kosovo will start handing out fines for Serbian car plates starting Tuesday.

The Serbian president also noted that Pristina has been planning to use violence for months.

The Kosovo authorities require that local Serbs re-register their car plates, demanding that they feature the EU-standard letter code of RKS (Republic of Kosovo) instead of KM, the Serbian identifier for the disputed region of Kosovska Mitrovica on the border. The deadline for the re-registration was October 31.

On August 27, Belgrade and Pristina reached an EU-brokered compromise deal on entry and exit regulations. Serbia agreed to abolish entry-exit documents for Kosovo ID holders, while Kosovo agreed not to introduce them for Serbian citizens. Belgrade maintains the move is only aimed at streamlining border crossing and does not mean that Serbia recognizes Kosovo's independence.