Blinken, Vucic Discuss Needed Measures to De-Escalate Tensions With Kosovo

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a phone call with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic discussed the need to take immediate steps to de-escalate tensions with Kosovo, the Department of State said on Friday.

“Secretary Blinken and President Vucic discussed the importance of taking immediate measures to de-escalate tensions with Kosovo in the wake of the September 24 violence and death of a Kosovo Police Sergeant,” the statement said.

Blinken reiterated the necessity to bring those responsible for the attack on the Kosovo police to justice, the statement said.

The secretary of state said such events present unacceptable challenges to the international community and expressed full support for the KFOR and the EULEX missions.

Blinken urged Serbia to accompany immediate de-escalation with full implementation of its commitments under the normalization agreement within the EU-facilitated dialogue, added.

On Sunday, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said unidentified individuals opened fire on Kosovo police officers in the northern municipality of Zvecan, killing one and wounding another.

Vucic said that three Serbs were killed and two others injured in the clashes with police in northern Kosovo and Metohija. Vucic said that those killed were not terrorists but were driven to the brink of desperation by the Kosovar authorities in Pristina. Vucic called them "heroes and martyrs."