BERLIN

Germany on Monday expressed concern as a dispute over vehicle license plates has increased tensions between Serbia and Kosovo.

"I can tell you that we are very concerned about the escalation," said Andrea Sasse, spokeswoman for the German Foreign Ministry on Monday.

"Our urgent appeal to both parties to the conflict is to refrain from further escalations and actually resolve this conflict in direct talks. It's about making pragmatic compromises now," she added.

Kosovo Serbs have withdrawn from all central and local institutions in protest over Pristina's decision to replace license plates issued to Serbs by Serbian authorities with plates from the Republic of Kosovo.

Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade continues to regard Kosovo as its territory.

Pristina says it will start issuing fines this month to Serb drivers using old pre-independence plates, and will confiscate vehicles with outdated registration numbers after April 21, 2023.

The EU has also urged both sides to refrain from any unilateral actions.

While it called on Serbia and Kosovo Serb representatives to respect their dialogue obligations and return to the Kosovo institutions to fulfil their duties, including in the police, judiciary and local administration; it asked Kosovo authorities to extend the process of re-registration of vehicles and suspending any punitive action against old plate holders.