Direct Threat of Resumption of Ethnic Cleansing in Kosovo Exists - Russian Foreign Ministry

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - There is a direct threat of resumption of ethnic cleansing of Serbs in Kosovo, which was practiced by Kosovo Albanian radicals in past, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Monday.

Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti said that on Sunday night unidentified people opened fire on Kosovo police officers in the northern municipality of Zvecan, killing one and wounding another. The shooting occurred around 03:00 a.m. local time (01:00 GMT) near the village of Banjska, some 30 miles from Pristina. Later, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that several Serbs were killed and injured in the clashes with police in northern Kosovo and Metohija.

"There is no doubt that yesterday’s bloodshed is a direct and immediate consequence of the course of the so-called Prime Minister A. Kurti to incite the conflict and clear the territory of the region from the Serbs. His attempts to create additional Western pressure on the Serbian leadership through escalating the situation in order to force Belgrade to recognize the independence of Kosovo are a constant play with fire, which, as we see, is too costly and brings the entire Balkan region to a dangerous brink," Zakharova said, as quoted in the ministry’s statement.

The spokeswoman also said that the Kosovo police "have discredited themselves" due to systemic violence against local Serbs.

"There is a direct threat of a resumption of ethnic cleansing, previously practiced by Kosovo Albanian radicals. We are convinced that the path to stabilization and a long-term settlement in Kosovo runs exclusively through the comprehensive implementation of the cornerstone UN Security Council resolution 1244 and the Brussels agreements of Belgrade and Pristina of 2013 and 2015, primarily in terms of the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities in the region, which should receive broad executive powers and become an effective instrument for protecting the interests of the Serbian population," the statement read.