The United States and the European Union said they are working with the Prime Minister of Kosova, Albin Kurti, and the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, to find a political solution to reduce tensions in northern Kosova.

In a joint statement, the US and EU urged the parties to refrain from provocations and find a solution to ease tensions and agree on the way forward in the interest of stability.

“The European Union and the USA are concerned about the ongoing situation of tension in the north of Kosova and ask everyone to exercise maximum restraint and act immediately to calm the situation by refraining from provocations, threats and intimidation. We are working with President Vucic and Prime Minister Kurti to find a political solution to ease tensions and agree on the way forward in the interest of stability, security and well-being of all local communities. At the same time, the rule of law must be respected and “any form of violence is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. The parties should implement without delay all the obligations of the dialogue for the normalization of relations, which is mediated by the European bloc,” their statement reads.

Tensions in the north have been rising since November, when Serbs abandoned Kosova’s institutions to culminate with the setting up of barricades on December 10 by some local Serbs, as a sign of dissatisfaction with the arrest of a former Kosova Serb police officer. Barricades continue to block the border points connecting Kosova with Serbia.

/a.p./