Albanian Language Media:

• Blinken: Call all parties to take immediate actions to de-escalate tensions (media)

• Kurti: Democracy cannot be suspended or held hostage (media)

• Kurti to CNN: Not surrendering democratic republic to fascist militia (media) 

• US Penalises Kosovo After Unrest in Serb-Majority North (BIRN)

• Opposition parties criticise govt for “cracking” relations with U.S. (RFE)

• OSCE Secretary General condemns violence in north of Kosovo (media)

• Kurti speaks with Peach, “in a democracy no place for fascist violence” (media)

• Mehaj: Partnership with U.S. is forever, it will remain as such (RTK)

• Police: Situation in north fragile but mostly calm (RTK)

• Mehaj expresses great concern for KFOR members injured in north (RTK)

 

Serbian Language Media: 

• Citizens arriving in large numbers in front of the Zvecan municipality building, KFOR strengthening the barbed wire (KoSSev)

• A large number of Serbs today in front of the Leposavic municipality building, KFOR strengthened the ring with barbed wire (Kosovo Online)

• Vucevic: The high-risk security situation in the north Kosovo  (RTS)

• Serbian List called Kosovo Serbs not to endanger safety of KFOR soldiers (N1, FoNet)

• Protest in front of German embassy in Belgrade (N1)

• Lazarevic: The international community should have prevented Kurti, the Serbs should have avoided clashing with KFOR, the special units to withdraw (KoSSev, Nova S)

• Rajovic: KP blocked the work of Flotation Trepca in Leposavic, production is at risk (Kosovo Online)

• The Eastern American bishop thanked Blinken: The violence is deeply disturbing, indicative of what happened after your warning (KoSSev)

International Media:

• Kosovo: ‘Fascist mobs’ guided by Serbia causing violence, says country’s PM (The Guardian)

• Nato deploys extra troops to Kosovo after violent clashes (Financial Times)

• Journalists targeted for attack again on Tuesday (BIRN)

• Kosovo's Largest Serbian Party Vows To Continue Protests Until Demands Met (RFE)

• Nato troops on guard in Kosovo town after clashes with Serb protesters (The Guardian)

• Why did ethnic Serbs attack NATO peacekeepers in Kosovo? Here’s what we know (CNN)

• Kosovo 'Tactical Game' Is A Strategic Blunder, Security Expert Charles Kupchan Warns Amid Balkan Violence (RFE)

• What's behind the latest Kosovo flareup? (DW)

• Russia Tells West to Stop 'Propaganda' Over Kosovo Clashes (The Moscow Times)

• Ethnic Serbs Gather In Northern Kosovo Amid Flurry Of Diplomatic Efforts To Calm Tensions (RFE)

• Djokovic ‘raising Serbia and Kosovo tension’ after French Open statement (The Guardian)

Albanian Language Media 

Blinken: Call on all parties to take immediate actions to de-escalate tensions (media)

U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said in a statement on Tuesday that both Kosovo and Serbia must take immediate actions to de-escalate tensions. “We call on all parties to take immediate actions to de-escalate tensions.  The United States condemns the unacceptable violence yesterday against NATO-led KFOR troops, law enforcement, and journalists. The Government of Kosovo’s decision to force access to municipal buildings sharply and unnecessarily escalated tensions. Prime Minister Kurti and his government should ensure that elected mayors carry out their transitional duties from alternate locations outside municipal buildings, and withdraw police forces from the vicinity. President Vucic and the Government of Serbia should lower the security status of Serbian Armed Forces and urge Kosovo Serbs to halt challenges to KFOR and refrain from further violence. Both Kosovo and Serbia should immediately recommit to engaging in the EU-facilitated Dialogue to normalize relations,” Blinken said.

Kurti: Democracy cannot be suspended or held hostage (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti in a video address to the people of Kosovo said that “democracy cannot be suspended or held hostage. Its exercise is a guarantor of peace and security for all citizens, regardless of ethnicity”. Watch the full address at: https://t.ly/YsGF

Kurti to CNN: Not surrendering democratic republic to fascist militia (media) 

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said in an interview with CNN on Tuesday that in the north Kosovo authorities are faced with “not peaceful protesters, we are facing a mob of extremists, ultranationalist right-wingers who are being paid and ordered from Belgrade”. “This is fascist militia who attacked our policemen and NATO soldiers and journalists who were on the ground and reporting there … I want to have peace and security, but I believe that democracy and rule of law is the way forward. It is not possible in municipal buildings not to have elected mayors. Power in Kosova cannot be gained by shock bombs and by crimes and by violence only by elections,” he said.

Asked about any evidence that the protesters came from Serbia, Kurti said “these are the people that we have identified that come from Serbia. some of them also come from the north of Kosova, but some of them come from Serbia. We are a democratic and pro-European republic. Our northern neighbor, Serbia, is a pro-Russian autocracy, so there is not much democracy there. They have one party, one state, one leader and they have ordered this so-called gendarmerie to come and do riots in the north of Kosova”.

Asked to comment on U.S. Secretary of State Blinken’s call to him to halt the violent measures and refocus on the EU-facilitated Dialogue, Kurti said: “All international bodies did recognise elections that we have. Once you recognise the process of elections and its results, then the mayors need to go to the municipalities. Who else should be in these municipal buildings if not the mayors? I am working closely with international factors especially with the United States and the European Union. We consider both of them indispensable allies, friends, and partners, and we will do our best. But I am not surrendering democratic republic to fascist militia”. 

Watch the full interview at: https://t.ly/zEOx

US Penalises Kosovo After Unrest in Serb-Majority North (BIRN)

Kosovo’s relations with its key US ally deteriorated sharply as Washington said it will impose penalties until Pristina takes measures to de-escalate the tense situation that led to violent unrest in the Serb-majority north of the country.

The US ambassador to Pristina, Jeffrey Hovenier, said on Tuesday that Washington will apply sanctions after the previous day’s unrest in northern Kosovo, which saw 30 NATO troops from the KFOR peacekeeping mission injured in violent clashes with protesting Serbs.

Hovenier told a press conference that the first sanction was the cancellation of Kosovo’s participation in the US-led Defender Europe 2023 military exercise.

He added that the US will also “cease all efforts to assist Kosovo in gaining recognition from states that have not recognised Kosovo and in the process of integration into international organisations”.

He said that the unrest has set back efforts to bring about a normalisation of relations between Serbia and Kosovo.

On Monday, Kosovo Serbs protested in front of municipal buildings in the Serb-dominated northern Kosovo municipalities of Zvecan, Zubin Potok and Leposavic against newly-elected ethnic Albanian mayors who were installed on Friday under Kosovo police guard.

Clashes erupted as protesters in Zvecan attacked KFOR soldiers with teargas, explosives, rocks and police batons.

Hovenier claimed that “the [Kosovo police] operation that took place on Friday to obtain access to municipal buildings through forceful means was not coordinated with US”.

“The crisis that has been created has been totally unnecessary, the mayors have had the opportunity to work from other administrative buildings located in these municipalities, so it was not necessary to insist on entering these buildings,” the US ambassador said.

Hovenier explained that he had asked Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti to urgently withdraw the Kosovo Police from the three contested municipal buildings in Zubin Potok, Leposavic and Zvecan.

Listen to the full press conference at: https://t.ly/ovRc

Opposition parties criticise govt for “cracking” relations with U.S. (RFE)

After the U.S. decision to suspend joint military drills “Defender 23” with Kosovo, the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) said on Tuesday that “the government was falling for Serbia’s trap”. “The reactions of friendly countries against the institutions of Kosovo, the reactions of the U.S., Germany, France, EU, and NATO, are proof of the grave diplomatic and strategic position of Kosovo. Kosovo has never been in this position before,” an LDK statement noted. It went on to criticize the Kosovo government for failing to coordinate with international allies and called on it to “choose the Euro-Atlantic future and political maturity instead of short-term populism”. The LDK also said that it would “not allow any politician or government to jeopardise the foundations of statehood”.

Leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj criticised Prime Minister Albin Kurti and President Vjosa Osmani arguing that “in less than three years in power, they have ruined every success”. “In such a short period of time, they have sent Kosovo ten years backwards,” he said. “Kosovo’s exclusion from the NATO exercise ‘Defender Europe 23’ is an alarm for our national security. One needs to be very shortsighted to create animosities with the whole democratic world in such delicate times”. Haradinaj said that Kurti should immediately resign and that “he cannot change the orientation of Kosovo and its people”.

The Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) too expressed its concern over the latest development saying that Kurti was threatening Kosovo’s relations with the U.S. and asked him to “urgently change his approach and position”. PDK argued that Kosovo’s exclusion from ‘Defender Europe 23’ is a concrete sign of Kosovo’s deteriorating relations with the U.S. and NATO. “It is a warning of even more consequences, if the government of the Republic of Kosovo does not act in responsible fashion,” it added. The PDK also called on President Osmani and Kurti to convene the Kosovo Security Council.

Blinken: U.S. strongly condemns attacks against NATO peacekeepers (media)

U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said in a Twitter post on Tuesday that “the United States strongly condemns yesterday’s attacks against NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) peacekeepers, and urges both sides to take immediate actions to de-escalate tensions and to recommit to EU-led normalization talks.”

OSCE Secretary General condemns violence in north of Kosovo (media)

OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid took to Twitter on Tuesday to condemn the violence in the north of Kosovo. “I strongly condemn the acts of violence that have unfolded in northern Kosovo. My best wishes for a full recovery are with those injured - both from NATO KFOR and civilians. It’s crucial to prioritize dialogue and seek peaceful solutions for the whole region,” Schmid tweeted.

Kurti speaks with Peach, “in a democracy no place for fascist violence” (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said in a Twitter post on Tuesday that he spoke with the U.K Special Envoy Stuart Peach “about the outrageous attacks on Police, KFOR & journalists”. Kurti also argued that “in a democracy there is no place for fascist violence—no appeal from ballot to bullet. Citizens of all ethnicities have a right to full & unencumbered service of their elected officials.”

Mehaj: Partnership with U.S. is forever, it will remain as such (RTK)

Kosovo’s Minister of Defence, Armend Mehaj, said in a Facebook post today that Kosovo’s partnership with the United States is forever and that it will remain as such. He argued that the army of Kosovo was built primarily with the strong backing of the U.S. “I am confident that our further development will continue. We share the same values and principles for peace and security for all. Membership in NATO remains our priority because only this can result in sustainable peace,” he wrote.

Police: Situation in north fragile but mostly calm (RTK)

Kosovo Police said in a statement on Tuesday evening that the security situation in the north of Kosovo has been fragile, but mostly calm, except in the municipality of Leposavic, where it has been tense from time to time. This is because the protestors/criminal groups have obstructed and attacked journalists from different media with various objects, the Kosovo Police reported in its latest press release.

According to the announcement, some media vehicles, which were parked in different locations, were attacked and damaged by hard tools thrown inside and outside the cars. "Obstructing journalists in the performance of their duties, violating free expression, preventing the reflection of the real situation, as well as damaging vehicles are criminal actions, which will be investigated by the Kosovo Police," the statement notes.

The police further announced that in the afternoon, the protests near the buildings of the three municipalities in the north, Leposaviq, Zubin Potok and Zvecan, have ended, except for a small number of protesters who continue to stay near the municipality of Leposaviq.

The police say that the monitoring of the situation and police engagements coordinated with the relevant security institutions have continued in all locations.

Mehaj expresses great concern for KFOR members injured in north (RTK)

Kosovo’s Minister of Defense, Armend Mehaj, stated that he is deeply concerned about the injured members of KFOR in the north of Kosovo. "KFOR and the Kosovo Police are committed to guaranteeing safety for all citizens!" Mehaj wrote in a post on Twitter. "We stand united against violence and support efforts for a peaceful Kosovo!"

During yesterday's protests in the north of Kosovo, around 30 members of KFOR were injured by the groups of parallel structures involved in the protest.

Serbian Language Media

Citizens arriving in large numbers in front of the Zvecan municipality building, KFOR strengthening the barbed wire (KoSSev)

In front of the Zvecan municipality building, a little before 7 a.m., a large number of citizens arrived and it is increasing all the time, reports KoSSev portal. 

Dozens of those gathered are standing near the House of Culture, along the fence reinforced with wire, which was installed nearby by KFOR members yesterday. The situation is calm at the moment.

The leaders of the Serbian List, Igor Simic and Goran Rakic, are with the citizens this morning. Even today, the leader of the CI Serbian Survival, Aleksandar Arsenijevic, is there.

On the other hand, Polish KFOR members are reinforcing the barbed wire they installed yesterday.

A large number of Serbs today in front of the Leposavic municipality building, KFOR strengthened the ring with barbed wire (Kosovo Online)

A large number of citizens gathered this morning in front of the municipality of Leposavic in support of the arrested Serbs during the conflict in Zvecan, reports Kosovo Online portal.

According to the portal, around 5 a.m., the ring around the American KFOR soldiers was additionally reinforced with barbed wire. Behind the KFOR soldiers are still armored vehicles of special units of the Kosovo Police.

The new mayor Lulzim Hetemi was not seen leaving the municipal building, so it is assumed that he spent this night as well as the previous one in that building.

Vucevic: The high-risk security situation in the north Kosovo  (RTS)

Serbian Defense Minister Milos Vucevic said in RTS's News that "the security situation is highly risky due to unilateral, illegal, illegitimate decisions of the administration in Pristina".

"First of all, let's call it by its right name and try to sublimate it as the occupation of the north of Kosovo and Metohija by the Albanian administration from Pristina," Vucevic added.

He pointed out that Belgrade believes in political conversation, dialogue and a political solution, and that is why they had meetings yesterday with the ambassadors of the Quinte countries, as well as the ambassadors of China and Russia.

Serbian List called Kosovo Serbs not to endanger safety of KFOR soldiers (N1, FoNet)

The Serbian List called on the Kosovo Serbs not to endanger the safety of KFOR soldiers on Tuesday evening, saying that whoever does it directly works against the interest of Serbian people. 

“Following media reports that an explosive device was thrown at KFOR troops near the Zvecan municipality building, Serbian List officials went to the site and talked to KFOR members and learned that it was probably a firecracker,” a statement also added. 

Protest in front of German embassy (N1)

Several dozen people staged a protest over developments in Kosovo in front of the German embassy in Belgrade on Tuesday.

An N1 reporter said that a megaphone blared the sound of a siren and that the protest was otherwise peaceful. It was organized by two minor nationalist organizations. Protest organizers said that their only demand was for Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to fulfill his promise to protect the Serbs in Kosovo.

Protest organizer Milos Kovic said that they chose to protest in front of the German Embassy because they blame that country, among others, for the European Union proposed agreement which they consider to be harmful to Serbia. Kovic said they also want an end to the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue.

Lazarevic: The international community should have prevented Kurti, the Serbs should have avoided clashing with KFOR, the special units to withdraw (KoSSev, Nova S)

“The fact that the international community did not prevent the Kosovo PM from making unilateral, risky moves and that the Serbs clashed with KFOR – are two key mistakes when it comes to dealing with the crisis in the north,“ the KoSSev editor-in-chief, Tatjana Lazarevic, assessed for Nova S news.

Read more at:https://shorturl.at/dlmzW

Rajovic: KP blocked the work of Flotation Trepca in Leposavic, production is at risk (Kosovo Online)

Milan Rajovic, the director of "Flotacija Leposavic, northern part of Trepca", said that since Friday, the workers of this company have been prevented from performing their work, as well as entering the premises, reported Kosovo Online yesterday. 

"Since Friday last week, we have been denied the right to work, we have been denied access to the premises. The production process was suspended in such a way that members of the Kosovo police came unannounced, in full military gear and blocked the main entrance to the circle, preventing the delivery of ore from the "Crnac" and "Belo Brdo" mines, therefore the production process has been at a standstill for us for the fifth day," Rajevic told Kosovo Online.

He adds that they talked with the police representatives but did not reach an agreement.

The Eastern American bishop thanked Blinken: The violence is deeply disturbing, indicative of what happened after your warning (KoSSev)

Eastern American bishop Irinej, who is reputed to be a church figure who has good connections with the U.S., sent a letter of thanks to the Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Monday, for his special announcement after the violent occupation of municipal buildings in the North by the special forces of the Kosovo Police. He also sent a letter to Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s national security adviser. In his letter, he also expressed concern over the violence in the north.

Read more at: https://shorturl.at/bzIPX

International Media

Kosovo: ‘Fascist mobs’ guided by Serbia causing violence, says country’s PM (The Guardian)

Kosovo’s prime minister has blamed violence in the north of the country on “fascist mobs” controlled by the government of neighbouring Serbia, and said he had rejected a US request to relocate recently installed mayors out of their official offices.

More than 30 Nato peacekeeping soldiers were injured in clashes on Monday, prompting the alliance to announce it would send another 700 troops to the country. Serbia’s president Aleksandar Vučić put his country’s army on high combat alert.

The Nato peacekeeping mission, Kfor, said Italian and Hungarian peacekeepers were subjected to “unprovoked attacks and sustained trauma wounds with fractures and burns due to the explosion of incendiary devices”.

“Yesterday was very severe, we were very lucky that no life was lost,” Kosovo prime minister Albin Kurti told the Guardian by telephone from Pristina on Tuesday. He said “several” Nato peacekeepers were still in hospital.

Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, called the attacks “unacceptable and irresponsible”.

The violence came after ethnic Albanian mayors took office in Serb-majority areas of northern Kosovo, after elections in April which Serbs boycotted. Kurti blamed Belgrade for orchestrating the boycott, which led to an extremely low turnout.

The area’s majority Serbs have never accepted Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia, and consider Belgrade their capital more than two decades after the Kosovo Albanian uprising against repressive Serbian rule.

Ethnic Albanians make up more than 90% of the population in Kosovo, but northern Serbs have long demanded the implementation of an EU-brokered 2013 deal for the creation of an association of autonomous municipalities in their area.

The violence has been widely condemned, but western allies of Kosovo have also sharply criticised the government in Pristina for the decision to install the mayors.

On Friday, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, issued an unusually strong rebuke to a US ally, saying the decision to use force to access municipal buildings in the north had been taken “against the advice” of the US and European partners and had “sharply and unnecessarily escalated tensions”.

Kurti expressed his displeasure at the statement, calling it “appeasement” of Vucic.

“I think it’s not just unfair and wrong and hurtful but at the same time very naive,” said Kurti, speaking to the Guardian by telephone from Pristina. “Perhaps secretary Blinken will explain this further one day, but definitely it was not helpful.”

Since then, Kurti said he had spoken to Gabriel Escobar, the US special envoy for the Balkans. He said Escobar had asked the Kosovan authorities to move the mayors to different premises, or to have them work from home, a request he had rejected.

“We cannot have Zoom mayors, we are a democratic republic,” said Kurti. “A democratic republic cannot surrender to fascist militia,” he added.

Read more at: https://t.ly/sK5P

Nato deploys extra troops to Kosovo after violent clashes (Financial Times)

Serbian protesters and international peacekeepers injured as ethnic tensions flare up, sparking security concerns. 

Nato will deploy additional forces to Kosovo in response to violent clashes that injured dozens of Serb protesters and international peacekeepers, sparking fears of a wider conflict in the Balkan nation.

The US-led military alliance said it had decided to send Operational Reserve Forces into Kosovo and instruct an additional battalion of troops to be ready to deploy in seven days if necessary.

The street violence since Monday, in which three Nato troops were shot and 27 more were injured after being hit by projectiles and improvised explosive devices, is the worst to hit Kosovo in years, and threatens to derail an EU-brokered deal intended to normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/42jWMdH

Journalists targeted for attack again on Tuesday (BIRN)

Attacks on journalists continued during renewed protests by Serbs in northern Kosovo on Tuesday. The Association of Journalists of Kosovo said it registered around 18 attacks on media outlets’ crews on Friday, Monday and Tuesday. Cars belonging to Albanian language media outlets Koha and T7 were damaged on Tuesday in Zvecan. The letter ‘Z’, symbolising support for Russia’s war against Ukraine, was sprayed on the vehicles. Gunshot damage was found on a car belonging to online media Periskopi in Zvecan. In Leposavic, journalists including BIRN’s crew were pushed, insulted and had eggs thrown at them by protesters, some of them wearing masks.

Journalists from neighboring Albania were also attacked on Tuesday in Leposavic. Protesters threw rocks at cars carrying crews from A2 CNN and Panorama. There were further attacks on journalists in North Mitrovica, where there are no protests. A crew from Albanian-language broadcaster RTV21 was physically assaulted and their camera taken.

Kosovo's Largest Serbian Party Vows To Continue Protests Until Demands Met (RFE)

Representatives of the Belgrade-backed Serbian List (Srpska Lista), the largest party of ethnic Serbs in Kosovo, on May 31 said they will continue their protests until their demand that Kosovar Albanian mayors are removed from several Serb-majority municipalities in northern Kosovo and special police units are withdrawn from the Serb-dominated north.

Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti has insisted that the ethnic Albanian mayors elected in last month's by-elections that were boycotted by local Serbs have the legal right to take over municipal buildings where they were elected -- albeit by a very small number of voters.

On May 30, NATO announced a decision to deploy 700 more troops to Kosovo to help stop violent protests in the north of the country and the United States canceled Kosovo's participation in ongoing NATO exercises after clashes broke out between ethnic Albanian authorities and local ethnic Serbs.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on May 30 that in addition to sending 700 more troops, another battalion had been put on standby. Stoltenberg warned that NATO troops "will take all necessary actions to maintain a safe and secure environment for all citizens in Kosovo" after the clashes occurred on May 29.

About 30 members of its forces were injured, KFOR said in a statement.

Read more at: https://t.ly/MBR_

Nato troops on guard in Kosovo town after clashes with Serb protesters (The Guardian)

Nato-led peacekeepers in full riot gear have secured a town hall in the Kosovo town of Zvecan as the situation remained tense a day after 30 soldiers and more than 50 ethnic Serbian protesters were injured in clashes.

Serbia’s president, Aleksandar Vucic, had previously put the army on the highest level of combat alert, and on Tuesday Moscow accused the west of “blaming” Serbs it said were “driven to despair”.

On Monday, the Nato-led Kosovo Force (Kfor) soldiers blocked entry to the area to a group of ethnic Serbian demonstrators. The protesters had boycotted last month’s elections in at least three northern towns in the area where they are in a majority, allowing ethnic Albanians to take control of local councils despite a minuscule turnout of under 3.5% of voters – a move that led the US and its allies to rebuke Kosova’s leaders on Friday.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/43dC3cO

Why did ethnic Serbs attack NATO peacekeepers in Kosovo? Here’s what we know (CNN)

Dozens of NATO peacekeepers were injured after they were attacked by ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo, during protests over the installation of ethnically Albanian mayors.

Violence broke out after Serbian demonstrators tried to block the newly elected mayors from taking office in the northern town of Zvecan on Monday, following a disputed election in April.

While this sort of violence against peacekeepers is rare, tensions have spiked in the region in recent months, fueled by deep historical rifts.

Here’s what you need to know.

What’s the background?

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, following the 1998-99 war in which Kosovar Albanians attempted to break from what was then the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, made up of today’s Serbia and Montenegro. NATO intervened in the war to protect Kosovo’s Albanian majority.

Serbia views Kosovo as a breakaway state and does not recognize its independence. Kosovo’s Serbs view themselves as part of Serbia, and see Belgrade as their capital, rather than Pristina.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/43f2PBR

Kosovo 'Tactical Game' Is A Strategic Blunder, Security Expert Charles Kupchan Warns Amid Balkan Violence (RFE)

Charles Kupchan is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and is a former director and adviser on the National Security Council in two White House administrations. He is also a professor of international affairs at Georgetown University and the author of the books Isolationism: A History Of America's Efforts To Shield Itself From The World and Nationalism And Nationalities In The New Europe.

Hours after Serbs opposed to the Kosovar government's efforts to install ethnic Albanian mayors clashed with NATO KFOR peacekeepers in northern Kosovo, Kupchan spoke to RFE/RL's Balkan Service about the latest crisis, outside pressures on Pristina and Belgrade, and the prospects for normalization between Serbia and its former province.

RFE/RL: Violent scenes were seen again in the north of Kosovo, especially in Zvecan. KFOR intervened after the local population refused to withdraw from the protest. There are injured NATO soldiers and locals. This happened after the Kosovo authorities took over the municipal buildings in the north. What is your take on this?

Charles Kupchan: It is a very worrisome development, because violence has again returned to Kosovo and in particular to the relationship between the Serbs in the north of the country and ethnic Albanians. And we are at a moment at which normalization between Serbia and Kosovo has as good a chance of moving forward as we've seen in a long time. We have U.S. and EU efforts, the EU framework that is under discussion. And these kinds of bouts of violence are unhelpful.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3MFfzdJ

What's behind the latest Kosovo flareup? (DW)

The situation in Kosovo is complicated, stemming from years of antagonism between two ethnic groups, memories of violence and war, and diplomatic mishandling. Florian Bieber, professor of Southeast European History and Politics at the University of Graz, explains how this week's clashes came about and what the future may hold.

Watch the video here: https://bit.ly/3qltzBS

Russia Tells West to Stop 'Propaganda' Over Kosovo Clashes (The Moscow Times)

Russia on Tuesday told the West to stop its "deceitful propaganda" after more than 30 peacekeepers deployed in a NATO-led mission in Kosovo were injured in clashes with ethnic Serbs.

Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade and Moscow have refused to recognize it.

Russia, Serbia's traditional ally, also effectively barred Kosovo from having a seat at the United Nations.

"We call on the West to finally halt its deceitful propaganda and stop blaming the incidents in Kosovo on desperate Serbs, who are trying to defend their legitimate rights and freedom peacefully and without weapons," the Foreign Ministry said.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3MJLytu

Ethnic Serbs Gather In Northern Kosovo Amid Flurry Of Diplomatic Efforts To Calm Tensions (RFE)

Ethnic Serbs continued to gather in front of town halls in northern Kosovo following a day of violence that led to the intervention of KFOR forces, resulting in dozens of injuries among troops and protesters as EU officials scrambled to bring leaders of Serbia and Kosovo together to find a way out of the situation.

On May 30, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell urged Kosovar authorities and ethnic Serb protesters to "immediately de-escalate" tensions in Kosovo's north, while sources told RFE/RL that the special representative of the European Union for dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, was trying to organize a meeting between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and the prime minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti.

The sources cautioned, however, that it appears unlikely either side is ready to meet or hold talks, making Lajcak's chances of success minimal.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/43yryRm

Djokovic ‘raising Serbia and Kosovo tension’ after French Open statement (The Guardian)

The Kosova Tennis Federation has accused Novak Djokovic of contributing to the rising tensions between Serbia and Kosovo following his statements at the French Open on Monday.

After Djokovic’s straight-sets win against Alexander Kovacevic, the 22-time grand slam title winner used the customary act of signing the camera lens to write the message: “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia. Stop violence” in Serbian. Djokovic then reposted a photo of his message on his Instagram story.

The 36-year-old was addressing the recent violent clashes in Kosovo following the local elections in April. Later on Monday, he spoke at length about the issue in his Serbian press conference, stating: “This is the least I could have done. I feel the responsibility as a public figure – doesn’t matter in which field – to give support.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3oFZVab