A lawmaker from Russia stated that the Kremlin would take Belgrade's side if NATO insisted on igniting a conflict by siding with Kosovan forces. Given the potential for an armed confrontation, this could end up being another simmering Russia-NATO crisis.
Show of Western Powers
According to the Russian senator, the turbulence in Serbia-Kosovo raises the possibility of a new confrontation, but Moscow assures its partner that it will remain on its side. Both opposing groups engaged in fighting last Sunday while protesters set up barricades and attackers shot Kosovo police, reported RT.
In an interview with RIA Novosti news agency on Monday, Vladimir Dzhabarov, a member of the Russian Federation Council, reportedly discussed the matter, noted CSM Times.
Because NATO forces are stationed there, he continued, it is highly hazardous, the hub of Europe and everything might end in a very horrible way.
According to Dzhabarov, it could lead to hostilities, and as soon as NATO nations enter the fray, other Serbian friends also run the risk of becoming entangled.
Russia To Side Belgrade
His comments were in response to a conflict between Serbia and its secessionist province, which was recognized by some Western nations in 2008 and is officially known as the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija in the Serbian constitution.
Beginning on August 1, the Kosovo government intended to outlaw the use of license plates and ID cards supplied by Serbia, deny entry to anyone using such plates or cards, and deny generating temporary documents for travelers, citing Euractiv.
Serbian Leaders Call It an Assault on Their People
President Aleksandar Vucic claimed it was an assault on the Serb minority in Kosovo and charged Pristina with violating the rights of the community's Serbs, whom he promised would not endure any more horrors.
He stated on Sunday that there was a possibility for peace but stressed that his administration would not sit by if Serbs were being attacked.
Kosovo has refuted reports of repression against Serbs and charged Belgrade authorities with undermining the rule of law.
Albin Kurti, the prime minister, alleged that Belgrade was spreading Serbian national chauvinism and misinformation and that local Serbs had begun firing on the authorities.
Trouble at the Kosovo-Serbia Border
On Sunday, tensions on the Kosovo-Serbia border escalated. The breakaway province's northern Serbs mounted roadblocks and issued a warning as Pristina's fully armed special police took control of two official crossings with Serbia.
Kosovo officials spoke to Washington and opted to postpone the implementation of the controversial law for 30 days on the condition that Serbia remove barricades from the de facto border. The foreign ministry condemned the US, EU, and Pristina's prejudiced campaign on Serbs, per RT.
Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry, said on Sunday that Pristina and its sponsors in Brussels and Washington should cease inciting unrest and respect the rights of ethnic Serbs in Kosovo.
Residents in the northern part of the breakaway province-built barriers, and Serbian forces were placed on high alert as ethnic Albanian police readied for a raid.
The lawmaker from Russia official made it clear that Moscow will be at Belgrade's side if the Kosovan forces ally themselves with NATO.
Related Article: Former Trump Envoy Scathes the US State Department for Backing Potential Kosovo-Serbian War
