High Tens between Pristina and Belgrade following arrests in Kosovo

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci said the operation is a Kosovo institution company for establishing rule of law and is not directed against any community.

I invite all citizens of Kosovo, especially those in the north, to take this issue as a completely normal company for order and law, is not directed against any community, but we should be grateful to citizens for the co-operation they have shown with the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo”, he said.

In Belgrade, Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vucic, said he has ordered the army and police to be in a state of readiness and has called on the international community to intervene to “Update Pristina”.

This morning at 6:29 a.m., as commander of the armed forces I ordered full military readiness of our armed forces. In the event of any serious corruption of the order or endangering the lives of Serbs in northern Kosovo, our armed forces will protect our people. What I can assure you is that if the conflict escalates, if there are still attacks on Serbs, all I can tell you is that Serbia will win”, he said in a speech to Serbia's parliament.

The “is a populist statement, a declaration that largely takes into account the internal opinion in Serbia, Serbia's president Vucic knows very well that he cannot move towards Kosovo, something that is impossible and unimaginable and even he himself is convinced, but in any case the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo, including the Kosovo Security Force, are in a state of readiness”, Kosovo President Hashim Thaci said.

Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj said after the government's meeting that it is unacceptable for Serbia to go on to defend crime.

The majority of the evidence is from Serbian citizens, and it must be understood that it is order and there is no logic and none of us can prevent law enforcement or fighting crime. Both Serbia and Kosovo aspire to enter the European Union”, Prime Minister Haradinaj said.

NATO peacekeeping forces already said this “is only a police operation and that neither the Kosovo Security Force nor any other military force has been deployed in northern Kosovo”. Because of political sensitivity, commander KFOR says in a statement, invites all parties to deal with disagreements peacefully and responsibly without the use of force.

There's nothing to be afraid of. KFOR continues to monitor the situation and is willing to intervene, if asked as the third responsible, in order to ensure security for all communities”, says a NATO-led peacekeeping force report in Kosovo.

The European Union called for restraint, stressing that it is in contact with the institutional leaders of Pristina and Belgrade. Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for the European Union's foreign policy chief, Federica Moghrini, said that <x0 police operations should bring confidence in rule of law. They should strengthen efforts for normalisation and not weaken them”, she said.

The operation was named as “approval” by the Russian Foreign Ministry, while Russia's embassy in Belgrade urged Kosovo authorities to release a Russian citizen, a member of the United Nations Mission, who was detained during the police operation in northern Kosovo. The Russian Embassy also requested, as it said, “accounts for those responsible for this incident”.

But, Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj said Kosovo institutions have only implemented the law.

“We respect the immunity of representatives of international organisations, Kosovo does not make exceptions, respects conventions of all the rights of mission representatives. If one of these representatives of these missions as the case of a Russian citizen risks the country's security we implement the law under the” international conventions, Prime Minister Haradinaj said.

Before both UNMIK employees were released in the afternoon, even the United Nations Mission in Kosovo sought their release as mission chief Tahir Zani said that “any injuries to UNMIK members would face diplomatic and international legal response”. / VoA/