BELGRADEL: Serbia’s president said on Sunday that Kosovo had shown it wanted war with after it deployed special forces to prevent a train painted with Serbia’s national colours and the words “Kosovo is Serbia” from entering its territory.
President Tomislav Nikolic said the neighbours had been “on the brink of conflict” on Saturday, while Kosovo’s prime minister told reporters the train, a project of the Serbian government, sent “a message of occupation.”
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Serbia still considers it part of its territory and supports a Serb minority there. Nato air strikes on Serbia forced Belgrade to/swithdraw its troops in 1999, having killed 10,000 Albanian civilians there. Nato still has around 5,000 troops stationed in Kosovo to keep the fragile peace.
The train left Belgrade for Kosovo’s northern town of Mitrovica on Saturday, but stopped while still in Serbia after Pristina said it had deployed special forces to prevent the train from crossing its border.
Following a specially convened National Security Council’s session, Nikolic said that by sending special police forces “Albanians showed they want the war.” “We were on the brink of the conflict yesterday,” Nikolic said.
Kosovo’s Prime Minister Isa Mustafa said the move had been an act of protecting Kosovo’s sovereignty.
“The institutions of the Republic of Kosovo will always undertake such actions to protect the country’s sovereignty and not allow machines that will provoke with a message of occupation,” Mustafa told reporters outside Pristina.
Relations between Belgrade and Pristina came under renewed strain on Jan. 4 when former Kosovo prime minister Ramush Haradinaj was arrested in France on a warrant from Serbia which accuses him of war crimes.
Kosovo Albanians make up more than 90 per cent of Kosovo’s 1.8 million population. Northern Kosovo, where Mitrovica is situated, is home to a Serb minority of around 40,000 to 50,000 people who do not see Pristina as their capital.
Normalising relations between Kosovo and Serbia is key condition for both countries to progress towards membership in the European Union both governments are aiming for.
In 2013 Belgrade and Pristina opened an EU-mediated dialogue to normalise relations, but Serbia is still blocking Kosovo’s membership in international organisations including the United Nations.
“Yesterday, we were on the verge of clashes,” Nikolic said after a meeting of the country’s top security body and the train’s overnight return to Belgrade. He accused the Kosovo Albanians of “wanting war.”
“We are a country which has to protect its people and its territory,” Nikolic said.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Serbia and its ally Russia do not recognise the split. Serbia has sought to maintain influence in Kosovo’s north, where most of the country’s Serb minority is located.
NATO-led troops have controlled Kosovo’s borders since a three-month air war in 1999 to stop a bloody Serbian crackdown against ethnic Albanian separatists.
Serbia officially is seeking European Union membership, but has been sliding toward the Kremlin and its policies to increase its influence in the Balkans.
Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa said Saturday he had contacted the United States and the European Union to express his country’s concerns.
Nikolic, who is staunchly pro-Russian, said the EU and the West have never been on Serbia’s side or come to its aid.
“Why were the so-called international community and the Albanians so upset about one train?” Nikolic asked. “Maybe because it had ‘Kosovo is Serbian” written on it, and because it had pictures of our icons inside.”
Tensions between Serbia and Kosovo soared following the recent detention in France of Ramush Haradinaj, a former Kosovo prime minister, on an arrest warrant from Serbia.
Kosovo has called the warrant illegitimate and urged France to ignore it, while Serbia is urging Haradinaj’s quick extradition to face war crimes charges.
