Russia Foreign Ministry Wants EU To Boost Pressure On Kosovo To Solve Conflict With Serbia

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th October, 2018) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko called on the European Union to exert more pressure on Kosovo to solve the latter's conflict with Serbia.

The conflict between Serbia and Kosovo escalated in late September, when Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic put the country's armed forces on alert after around 60 members of Kosovo's special forces were deployed near Lake Gazivoda, which is situated in the north of Kosovo, very close to its border with Serbia. Kosovo's special forces were reportedly accompanying the president of the republic, Hashim Thachi, during his short boat trip on the lake.

"Brussels should exert more pressure on Pristina to make it implement the earlier undertaken commitments under the UN Security Council's resolution," Grushko told the Izvestiya newspaper in an interview published on Wednesday.

Kosovo proclaimed its independence from Serbia in 2008 and was recognized by over a hundred UN member states. The move was not, however, recognized by a number of other countries, including Serbia itself and two permanent members of the UN Security Council: Russia and China.

In early September, Vucic and Thachi planned to hold talks in Brussels, but the direct negotiations never took place because the Serbian president withdrew from them, citing alleged lies and threats on the part of Kosovar Albanians. As a result, the two leaders held separate talks on existing issues with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.