Serbs leaving Kosovo’s institutions is historical, tectonic change: Serbian president

The announcement by Kosovar Serbs that they have withdrawn from all central and local institutions in Kosovo is a historical and tectonic change, Serbia’s president said Sunday.

Aleksandar Vucic made the remarks during a guest appearance on private station TV Pink. They referred to the decision by Serbian representatives to withdraw from the assembly, government and all Pristina institutions as well as suspend their participation in the police and judiciary.

"This is neither the first nor the last time that Serbia is attacked on the issue of Kosovo...We are certainly talking about major political, almost tectonic changes,'' said Vucic.

Vucic said that on the night between June 29 and 30, he prevented "unprecedented bloodshed" in the north of Kosovo because the Serbs had erected barricades and members of the special units of the Kosovo police were ordered to tear them down.

''After 11 hours of difficult talks, the Serbs from the north told me that because you are begging, we will remove the barricades. There is no end to the madness in Pristina, and all this is supported by two great powers,'' he said.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, urged Kosovo to immediately start taking steps to establish the Community of Serb Majority Municipalities.

''The Kosovo Assembly has ratified the Brussels Agreement and Kosovo’s Constitutional Court ruled that the association/community needs to be established. Therefore, its establishment is a binding legal obligation for Kosovo. Continued failure to implement this obligation undermines the principle of rule of law and damages Kosovo’s reputation and credibility,'' said Borrell

The move came after a meeting Friday by the Serb List -- a minority political party in Kosovo in Zvecan municipality.

The head of Serb List, Goran Rakic, said the decision is in response to the Kosovo government's attempts to convert license plates issued to Serbs by Serbian authorities to "RKS" or Republic of Kosovo license plates.

He also announced his resignation as minister for communities.

Vucic urgently convened the government due to the developments.

Meanwhile, Serbia neutralized a commercial drone Wednesday on the Kosovo border.

Vucic issued orders to the military Tuesday to destroy any enemy drones in the country’s airspace after unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were spotted above military bases bordering Kosovo.

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic confirmed that drones had been spotted filming military bases.

Defense Minister Milos Vucevic said earlier that the armed forces were on alert amid escalating tensions with neighboring Kosovo over the issue of car license plates.

Kosovo has tried many times this year to make its Serb minority renew their license plates which date before 1999 when Kosovo was part of Serbia. The move has resulted in violent clashes between police and Serbs.

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