The US on Friday urged Belgrade to pull its forces back from the border with Kosovo after detecting what it called an “unprecedented” Serbian military buildup.
Serbia deployed sophisticated tanks and artillery on the frontier after deadly clashes erupted at a monastery in northern Kosovo last week, the White House said.
The violence — in which a Kosovar police officer and three Serbian gunmen were killed — marked one of the gravest escalations for years in Kosovo, a former Serbian breakaway province.
Photo: AFP
“We are monitoring a large Serbian military deployment along the border with Kosovo,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
“That includes an unprecedented staging of advanced Serbian artillery, tanks, mechanized infantry units. We believe that this is a very destabilizing development,” he said. “We are calling on Serbia to withdraw those forces from the border.”
The build-up took place within the past week, but its purpose was not yet clear, Kirby said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had telephoned Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to urge “immediate de-escalation and a return to dialogue,” he said.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan also spoke with Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti and “expressed concern about Serbian military mobilizations,” a readout of the call said.
The pair also “discussed the EU-facilitated Dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, which Mr. Sullivan underscored was the only long-term solution to ensuring stability throughout Kosovo,” the readout said.
Vucic did not directly deny that there had been a recent buildup, but rejected claims that his country’s forces were on alert.
“I have denied untruths where they talk about the highest level of combat readiness of our forces, because I simply did not sign that and it is not accurate,” Vucic told reporters. “We don’t even have half the troops we had two or three months ago.”
Serbia on Wednesday said that its defense minister and head of the armed forces had gone to visit a “deployment zone,” but gave no further details.
The clashes on Sunday last week began when heavily armed ethnic Serb gunmen ambushed a patrol a few kilometers from the Serbian border, killing a Kosovar police officer. Several dozen assailants then barricaded themselves at an Orthodox monastery, sparking an hour-long firefight in which three gunmen were killed and three were arrested.
Kosovo’s government has accused Belgrade of backing the operation, while a member of a major Kosovo Serb political party admitted to leading the gunmen, his lawyer said on Friday.
Kirby said the attack had a “very high level of sophistication,” involving about 20 vehicles, “military-grade” weapons, equipment and training.
“It’s worrisome. It doesn’t look like just a bunch of guys who got together to do this,” he said.
The NATO peacekeeping force known as Kosovo Force (KFOR) would be “increasing its presence” following the attack, Kirby added.
In Brussels, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that the US-led alliance was ready to boost the force to deal with the situation.
In the north of Kosovo, where the Serb minority is concentrated, KFOR has decided to “increase its presence and activity,” a NATO official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
He added that KFOR was prepared to make “further adjustments” if necessary to enable it to fulfill its peacekeeping mandate.
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