Global Courant
The United States is urging Belgrade to withdraw after the deployment of Serbian tanks and artillery near the border with Kosovo.
The United States has urged Belgrade to withdraw its troops from the border with Kosovo after discovering what it called an “unprecedented” Serbian military buildup.
Serbia has deployed advanced tanks and artillery near its border with Kosovo after deadly clashes broke out at a monastery in northern Kosovo last weekend, the White House warned on Friday.
The violence – in which a Kosovo police officer and three Serb gunmen were killed – marked one of the worst escalations in tension in years between Serbia and the former breakaway province now called Kosovo.
“We are monitoring a major Serbian military deployment along the border with Kosovo,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
“That includes an unprecedented deployment of advanced Serbian artillery, tanks and mechanized infantry units. We believe that this is a very destabilizing development,” he said.
“We call on Serbia to withdraw those troops from the border,” he added.
The build-up took place over the past week, although its purpose was not yet clear, Kirby said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic earlier on Friday to urge “immediate de-escalation and a return to dialogue,” Kirby added.
Vucic did not directly deny that there had been a recent uprising, but rejected claims that his country’s armed forces were on high alert.
“I have denied the untruths where they talk about the highest level of combat readiness of our armed forces because I simply did not sign that and it is not correct,” Vucic told reporters on Friday.
“We don’t even have half the troops we had two or three months ago.”
Serbia said on Wednesday that its defense minister and the head of the armed forces had gone to visit a “deployment area”, but gave no further details.
U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan also spoke with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and “expressed his concerns about Serbian military mobilizations,” according to a statement after the call.
Kurti later said on social media that he had requested “more help against Serbia’s war plans” from the US.
Encouraging call with @POTUS NSA @jakejsullivan. Thanked him for support for border security and requested more help against Serbia’s war plans. Assured him of the continued cooperation of the Kosovo Police with KFOR and that our commitment to protect all citizens is unwavering.
— Albin Kurti (@albinkurti) September 29, 2023
The two “also discussed the EU-facilitated dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, which Mr. Sullivan underlined is the only long-term solution to guarantee stability throughout Kosovo,” according to a readout of the phone call.
The military build-up follows clashes last weekend that began when heavily armed Serb gunmen ambushed a patrol several kilometers from the Serbian border, killing a Kosovo police officer.
Several dozen attackers then barricaded themselves outside an Orthodox monastery, leading to an hours-long gun battle in which three gunmen were killed and three arrested.
The Kosovo government accused Belgrade of supporting the armed operation, while a member of a key Kosovo Serb political party admitted directing the gunmen, his lawyer said on Friday.
Kirby said the attack had a “very high level of sophistication,” involving about 20 “military-grade” vehicles, weapons, equipment and training.
“It’s worrying. It doesn’t look like a bunch of guys got together to do this,” he said.
NATO’s peacekeeping force in Kosovo, known as KFOR, will “increase its presence” after the attack, Kirby added.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg confirmed that the alliance was ready to strengthen the KFOR force to deal with the situation.
Kosovo broke away from Serbia in a bloody war in 1998-99 and declared independence in 2008 – a status that Belgrade and Moscow have refused to recognize.
Relations between Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian majority and the Serb minority have long been tense, and tensions in northern Kosovo have escalated sharply in recent months.
