BELGRADE, June 23. /TASS/. Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces Milan Mojsilovic has called on the command of the NATO-led international security force in Kosovo (KFOR) to defend Serbs in northern Kosovo and Metohija.

"In line with all the fact and in the interest of our professional cooperation, I have informed the KFOR commander that we are following the development with great concern and ask to take urgent measures to defend the Serbian people and its right to existence. This is our request to the KFOR units, the entire contingent and other international security structures in Kosovo and Metohija," he told a news conference on Friday.

He stressed that the Serbian army’s actions have always been based on international agreements and law whereas "the international community is not implementing its commitments."

Russian Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko said earlier on Friday that Kfor troops are provoking escalation of the conflict in northern Kosovo and supporting the criminal activities of Kosovar law enforcement officers.

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).