How close were the border with Kosovo Serb forces?

The situation in Kosovo, at the moment, is calm, but remains fragile, the peacekeeping mission praised NATO in Kosovo, KFOR.

Radio Free Europe demanded comment from him, as Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said a day earlier than Serbia's “specialised military units have been observed only a few metres Far removed from border with Kosovo” and published, as claimed, their view.

“KFOR has a flexible and visible presence throughout Kosovo which enables our mission to monitor closely any important security development and respond to all situations affecting a safe environment”, KFOR said.

He did not answer the REL question whether he has seen any unusual movements of Serbia's Army or Police near the border with Kosovo.

This mission is responsible for the security of Kosovo's borders with Serbia, while for the rest of the borderline is Kosovo Police.

Kosovo and Serbia share a long border line of about 400km.

Under an agreement with KFOR, Kosovo police can patrol the border with Serbia to a mile near the partition line. Serbia's Armed Forces should also inform KFOR if their units are approaching closer than a mile from the border with Kosovo.

What was said in Serbia?

Serbia's Defence Ministry said through a statement to the media that Kurti's claims are “the continuator of the disinformative campaign directed against Serbia's Army”.

According to this ministry, members of Serbia's Army in the land security zone are seen in the video, “conducting regular tasks for securing administrative line and controlling the ground security zone”.

These actions were said to be in line with military-technical agreements and all other agreements signed with KFOR.

In the Serbian ministry's response, it also says, that in the security of the <x0 mine administration towards Kosovo and Metohija” As Serbia refers to the border with Kosovo “has no room for the Kosovo Police and the Kosovo Security Force”.

How close, actually, were the Serb forces?

Radio forensics team Free Europe analysedImages which distributed Kurti on social networks and located where Serbian military vehicles were located.

Video cars appear to be turning towards Serbian villages, while soldiers approach parked military vehicles.

According to the scientist, which is part of Google Maps' tool, at the moment of the video, two vehicles and several soldiers are about 350m from the border with Kosovo, according to the airline.

There is also a small sandy road that crosses the border.

On both sides of the border, houses are seen nearby.

Shortly after this border line are the villages of Banja and Klecke in Kosovo.

What else did the authorities say?

Speaking to reporters Friday at a conference, Prime Minister Kurti said that “is not normal for those military vehicles to come just a few metres near the” border.

They came to provoke, but we shot this, we testified, but we didn't take anything. We were watching over them and We saw how they would transgress, but they did not transgress. I'm glad they aren't there today, until 4: 00 p.m. they weren't there”, he said.

US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia James O'Brien said the US is monitoring the movements of the Serbian Army near the border with Kosovo.

In an online conversation with reporters, who also held Friday, O'Brien said the US has told Serbia that using force would be unacceptable.

He said that an eventual movement by Serbia's forces would be regarded by the US as endangering NATO forces “that are in Kosovo to protect Albanians and Serbs”.

According to him, Serbian President Aleksandar Vuciq, “has said there will be no use of force”.

The U.S. has named him destabilising DevelopmentEven when Serbia has gathered troops at the border with Kosovo, shortly after Armed attack in Banjska, September last year.

Vrajolli: Unmarked border, pretext for “excusing”

Mentor Vrajolli, from the Kosovar Centre for Security Studies, says the presence of Serbia's Army units near the border with Kosovo “is provocative”.

The concerns Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has raised over the issue, he says, should not be ignored either by Kosovo institutions or by international factors.

“Shouldn't deny the possibility that these individuals, these [Serbia's] soldiers, who come up to the border line, are collecting intelligent information about gaps that have the Kosovo limit”, Vrajolli tells Radio Free Europe.

He stresses that Kosovo institutions should not fall prey to these provocative actions, but should be prepared to intervene, if such entities cross the border.

Vrajolli says Kosovo and Serbia have not written down the border and that fact is misused by Serbian forces.

They can use this as a pretext, say we thought it was ours or we think it's ours, says Vrajolli.

Serbia, with its Constitution, continues to consider Kosovo as part of its territory, even though Kosovo has declared independence since 2008.

The two countries have been negotiating the normalisation of relations since 2011.

Last month, it has been a year since they have reached the basic agreement on normalising relations which, among other things, envisions mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, but implementation has stalled./Radio Free Europe/

Serbian Army nears border with Kosovo, Kurti publishes images of fears