Serbia and Kosovo Agree to De-Escalate

NATO forces will replace the Pristina special forces on the demarcation line in Kosovo, which should be withdrawn. Representatives of Serbia and Kosovo on Thursday, September 30, reached an agreement on de-escalation in Northern Kosovo. This was announced on Twitter by the EU Special Representative for the Western Balkans Miroslav Lajcak. "After two days of intense negotiations, an agreement on de-escalation has just been reached," he tweeted. According to the text of the three-point agreement, published by Lajcak, NATO forces KFOR will replace the Pristina special forces on the contact line in Kosovo, which should be removed from the Jarinje and Brnjak CCPs between 8h00 and 16h00 local time on October 2. In addition, representatives of the EU, Serbia and Kosovo agreed to create a working group that will work out a long-term solution to the problem of vehicle numbers for residents of northern Kosovo, which is predominantly inhabited by Serbs. Most of their vehicles have Serbian license plates, while the self-proclaimed Kosovo authorities are demanding replacement for Kosovo plates. Recall, a few days earlier, Serbia announced its readiness to use the army to protect its citizens in Kosovo. Kosovo, with over 90 percent of its population ethnic Albanians, declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Belgrade still considers the region a part of Serbia. Kosovo's independence was also denied by several EU members, Russia and China. Ukraine also does not recognize the independence of Kosovo, but since last autumn it has recognized its passports. Корреспондент