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Belgrade, Pristina reach deal on de-escalation in Kosovo’s north, says EU envoy

The situation at the administrative line between Kosovo and Central Serbia escalated on September 20, when hundreds of Kosovar policemen, including snipers, occupied the Jarinje and Brnjak checkpoints

EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Miroslav Lajcak EPA-EFE/NEMANJA JOVANOVIC

EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Miroslav Lajcak

© EPA-EFE/NEMANJA JOVANOVIC

BRUSSELS, September 30. /TASS/. Belgrade and Pristina have reached a de-escalation agreement in North Kosovo, EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Miroslav Lajcak wrote on Twitter on Thursday.

"After two days of intense negotiations, an agreement on de-escalation and the way forward has just been reached," he tweeted.

According to the text of the three-point agreement published by Lajcak, at the administrative line, NATO’s Kosovo Force (KFOR) will replace the special police units that should be removed from the Jarinje and Brnjak checkpoints starting at 8h 00 (9 am Moscow Time) no later than 16h 00 (17 pm Moscow Time) on October 2.

Moreover, the representatives of the EU, Belgrade, and Pristina agreed to establish a Working Group to find a permanent solution to the license plate issue of citizens in North Kosovo, populated mainly by Serbs. Most of their vehicles have Serbian license plates, yet the authorities in Pristina demand they be replaced with Kosovo plates.

The situation at the administrative line between Kosovo and Central Serbia escalated on September 20, when hundreds of Kosovar policemen, including snipers, occupied the Jarinje and Brnjak checkpoints. The Kosovars started to forcefully remove license plates from Serbian vehicles, replacing them with Kosovo ones, and taking a "fee" of 5 euro. The Serbs, angered by the actions of the Kosovars, advanced to the crossings with more than 400 vehicles and began a peaceful protest, which continues to this day.

On September 23, Kosovo policemen attacked three Serbs and one of them was hospitalized. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic urged the West to exert influence over Pristina and demanded that Kosovo’s police forces be withdrawn.

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