Nato deal set to soothe Kosovo-Serbia relations

KOSOVAN SERBS are expected to remove roadblocks near the disputed border between Kosovo and Serbia after Nato brokered a deal to prevent a repeat of deadly clashes in the area.

Violence erupted in the fledgling Balkan state this month when Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian government ordered police to seize customs posts at the frontier with Serbia in a bid to enforce a trade embargo against its neighbour and crack down on alleged smuggling by Serbs.

Serbs living in northern Kosovo – who refuse to be ruled by the state government in Pristina or recognise its 2008 declaration of independence from Belgrade – protested against the move, and one Kosovo policeman was killed and several injured in subsequent fighting.

Members of the Nato-led peacekeeping mission Kosovo Force (Kfor) quelled the violence, which jeopardised EU-mediated talks between Serbia and Kosovo that are intended to soothe their relations and pave the way for both to eventually join the bloc.

Under the agreement, the disputed crossings will be designated “military security zones” and manned by Kfor troops. No goods from Serbia will enter Kosovo and Pristina will not send its police and customs officers to the border posts.

This situation will continue until at least mid-September, when Belgrade and Pristina are due to resume talks in Brussels.

Amid fears that Kosovo Serbs could be isolated by the embargo and suffer shortages of vital goods, trucks with humanitarian aid will be allowed to cross the border.

Kosovo prime minister Hashim Thaci imposed the embargo last month, in retaliation for Serbia’s refusal to lift its own three-year ban on the import of goods from Kosovo.

“A pact was concluded between our country and . . . Kfor. We will take the necessary steps and fulfil our obligations,” said Kosovo Serb official Radenko Nedeljkovic after meeting Serb president Boris Tadic in Belgrade.

Mr Nedeljkovic and other municipal leaders in northern Kosovo are due to meet today to discuss the deal, and are expected to order the removal of barricades from roads near the border.

“Whoever breaks this deal will be responsible for the consequences, as we have given a chance to agreement and to stabilise the situation on the ground,” said Serbia’s chief negotiator for Kosovo, Borko Stefanovic.

Mr Thaci hailed the deal and said Kosovo had “finally been able to take its borders under control”.