Serbian Official Informs Chinese Ambassador About Tensions In Kosovo

BELGRADE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th November, 2022) The head of Serbia's office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, informed on Monday Chinese Ambassador Chen Bo about the tensions in Kosovo and the decision of local Serbs to withdraw from all of Pristina's structures.

On Saturday, representatives of the Kosovo Serbs decided to pull out of all structures of the self-proclaimed republic � including the parliament, government, courts and police � due to Pristina's decision to remove the Serbian police chief for refusing to issue written warnings to local Serbs regarding car plates. On Sunday, Kosovo Serbs held a demonstration in the North Kosovska Mitrovica municipality.

"The Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija have tolerated for too long the physical and institutional violence of (Kosovo Prime Minister) Albin Kurti and Pristina. They are forbidden to vote in elections (held by Belgrade), to express their will in a referendum. At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic they were banned from vaccination in Kosovo, police special forces entered the northern province every day in defiance of the agreements, and our people waited 10 years for the Community of Serb Municipalities to be formed," Petkovic said as quoted by the office.

According to the office, the withdrawal from all structures is not a step by which the Serbs want to escalate tensions, but to fight for compliance with bilateral agreements.

In August, tensions between Serbia and Kosovo escalated when Pristina announced plans to introduce new border rules. The measures would have restricted entry from Serbia with Serbian-issued identification documents and license plates that were to be exchanged for Kosovo-issued documents at the border.

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. However, the Kosovo authorities required that local Serbs re-register their car license plates with letters "KM" to Pristina-issued plates featuring "RKS" before October 31, starting another wave of tensions.