British newspaper Reuters writes about three Kosovo police officers: Freezing the Crisis

The three officers, who had been released with a Serbian court ruling, made fun of border guards as they reentered Kosovo territory on Monday afternoon and then left with a police jeep.

The European Union welcomed the move and urged Kosovo and Serbia to take further steps to ease the boiling crisis, including holding new local elections in northern Kosovo.

Josep Borrell, the bloc's foreign policy chief, warned that the EU would take action <x0political and financial> against both governments unless they take steps towards normalising relations.

“Member States remain ready to take further action if no progress is seen,” he told reporters after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.

Serbia said police officers identified only with their initials, B.S., R.Z. and S.M. They were arrested within Serbia on June 14th. Prosecutors charged them with production, ownership, possession and unauthorized trafficking of weapons and explosive substances.

Kosovo says Serbs have kidnapped police on its territory. Kosovo sought their release, as well as the European Union and the United States.

A Supreme Court panel in the southwestern Serbian town of Kraljevo “affirmed the charges against the suspects mentioned and made a decision to cut the detention of suspects,”, the court said in a statement.

The decision enabled Serbian authorities to support the charges and allow all three to return to Kosovo, beyond the possibility of the Serbian court.

Albanian majority Kosovo, once a southern province of Serbia, declared independence from Belgrade in 2008 with support from the West following a 1998/99 war. Serbia still considers Kosovo part of its territory.

Late last month, violence flared up in four municipalities in northern Kosovo after ethnic Albanian mayors took office after local elections. Turnout was only 3.5% since ethnic Serbs, who make up the majority of the population there, boycotted the vote.

Brussels and Washington have urged Serbia to remove demonstrators from the four municipalities and have called on Kosovo to withdraw police and mayors from the area and organise local elections.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has confirmed Monday the release of three policemen.

“While we are happy that they can return to their families, this kidnapping is a serious violation of human rights and must be punished. The Serbian aggression must be held accountable”, Kurti wrote on Twitter.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhely said the deespass must continue, including the establishment of an association of Serbian municipalities, as defined in an EU-brokered 2013 agreement between Belgrade and Pristina. /Reuters