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Serbia may request Russia’s military assistance — envoy

According to the Russian ambassador to Serbia Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, Serbia does not exclude any scenario, so the military aid may be necessary

MOSCOW, August 2. /TASS/. Serbia may request military help from Moscow amid the aggravated situation in Kosovo and Metohija, Russian ambassador to Serbia Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko said.

When answering the question whether Belgrade may request direct military assistance from Moscow, the Russian diplomat did not rule out the possibility. "We do not exclude any scenario, especially if we put what is happening in Serbia, in Kosovo and in the Balkans in the general geopolitical context of major, global changes," he said on Tuesday during a Solovyov Live TV broadcast.

The situation in Kosovo and Metohija deteriorated dramatically on Sunday evening after Kosovo’s police had closed the checkpoint at the border with Serbia. In response, Serbs in the north of Kosovo took to the streets and blocked key highways. Police and the Kosovo Force (KFOR), a NATO-led international peacekeeping force in Kosovo, were pulled to the bridge across the Ibar River, which links Kosovska Mitrovica’s northern and southern parts.

International efforts resulted in Pristina's decision to postpone the procedure for issuing the ban on the Serbian documents until September 1.