Serbia demands new elections in northern Kosovo

On September 14, 2024, news from Belgrade. Serbia is demanding elections in a Serb-populated northern region of Kosovo and the return of Serbs to the police and judicial institutions. The current tensions in the region raise concerns about instability and a new armed conflict.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has called for the withdrawal of Kosovo's special police from areas bordering Serbia. Serbia does not recognize Kosovo's independence declared in 2008. Kosovo was once a province of Serbia and broke away after the 1998-1999 war. Tensions flared up again at the end of August after Kosovo closed several parallel Serb institutions in the north, drawing criticism from the United States and the European Union amid concerns about instability in the Balkans amid the war in Ukraine.

Vučić said Serbia is demanding a return to the previous dialogue results and accused Kosovo of refusing to form a Serb-majority association of municipalities as agreed. He emphasized that the demand is to respect European norms and engage in dialogue and that he does not want war. Many Serbs do not recognize Kosovo's secession from Serbia. In November 2022, Serb lawmakers, judges and police in northern Kosovo resigned en masse in protest. Last year, a gun battle left one Kosovo policeman and three Serb gunmen dead. This week, Kosovo prosecutors brought charges against 45 people including close allies of Vučić.

Vučić said Serbia will continue to aid Serbs in Kosovo, accused the European Union and the United States of favoring Kosovo and announced that he will send letters to leaders of many countries. The European Union is demanding that Serbia and Kosovo normalize relations to advance the process of joining the European Union. Belgrade maintains close relations with Russia and China, which support Serbia's claims on Kosovo. Vučić's speech is dominated by anti-Western remarks, and people are worried that Russia is using Serbia to exacerbate tensions in Europe.