MOSCOW, July 8. /TASS/. Moscow is alarmed by another hike of escalation in the autonomous province of Kosovo and Metohija that poses threat to the people of Serbia, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday.
"We are alarmed with the latest escalation of violence in the Serbian autonomous province of Kosovo and Metohija," she said. "The situation is spiraling out of control posing a direct threat to the existence of Kosovo Serbs."
The diplomat pointed out that the cause of the current escalation is rooted in "the policy of ethnic cleansing, pogroms, expulsion and terror against Serbs pursued by the Kosovo Albanian authorities."
"This is all taking place under the US and EU connivance, which decide against restraining ultra-radicals in Pristina," she said. "Instead, the West seeks new ways to put pressure on Belgrade and the Serbian people, fabricate shameless accusations, including against the Serbian Orthodox Church."
The situation in the Serb-populated Leposavic, Zubin Potok, and Zvecan municipalities in northern Kosovo and Metohija escalated on May 26 after Kosovo law enforcement officers tried to seize local administration buildings to make it possible for the new mayors of these municipalities, who were elected despite nearly the entire Serb population boycotting the elections, take their offices.
On May 29, the NATO-led international security force in Kosovo (KFOR) cordoned off the administrative buildings, clashing with the protesters. The Kosovo police detained seven local Serbs on charges of using force against KFOR troops during protests on May 29. However, according to a video shot during the rally, these men were merely sitting on the ground in front of the KFOR troops.
During a phone call with US senators, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that Prime Minister of the unrecognized republic of Kosovo Albin Kurti was provoking hostilities in the very heart of Europe. He also lambasted the activity of the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX).