NATO urges Serbia, Kosovo to refrain from actions that would increase tensions

BELGRADE, Serbia

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday urged Serbia and Kosovo to refrain from actions that would increase tensions.

Stoltenberg held separate phone calls with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti about the tension that has arisen over license plates in the north of Kosovo.

''I urged both (sides) to refrain from any unilateral action that can trigger escalation. Dialogue is the only way forward,'' Stoltenberg said on Twitter.

Vucic said he informed Stoltenberg about Pristina violating the Brussels Agreement.

''I pointed out that Pristina is brutally violating the Brussels Agreement with its unilateral actions...In spite of this, Serbia is trying to maintain peace and stability and will remain committed to that,'' he said.

Kurti said he agreed that dialogue is the only way to sort out the issue.

“I agree that there is no alternative to dialogue. The current situation is Belgrade's feeble attempt to replace dialogue w/ destabilization. They will fail: I pledge to work w/ @NATO_KFOR to ensure security & rule of law, without discrimination — in the entire Republic of Kosova,” he said in a tweet.

Kosovo Serbs have withdrawn from all central and local institutions in protest over Pristina's decision to replace license plates issued to Serbs by Serbian authorities with plates from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will start issuing fines this month to Serb drivers using old pre-independence plates and will confiscate vehicles with outdated registration numbers after April 21, 2023.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 European Union 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 the police, judiciary and local administration, it asked Kosovo authorities to extend the process of re-registering vehicles and suspend any punitive action against old license plate holders.