Kosovo has closed the main border crossing with Serbia.

The development came after Kosovo Serbs on their side of the border late on Tuesday used trucks and tractors to block traffic towards the crossing at the village of Merdare.

Now Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is calling on Serbs in Kosovo to end their protests and remove the road blockade.

The tensions in Kosovo in recent days have revived a long-running conflict between Serbia and Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008.

The EU and the US are mediating the conflict

The EU, NATO, and the US have in recent days urged Kosovo and Serbia to calm down and mediated between the countries.

Now the talks seem to have yielded results.

During Wednesday, Serbia called on the President of Kosovo to calm down and to remove the road blockade.

According to the head of Serbia's Kosovo ministry, Petar Petkovic, the country has received guarantees from the EU and the US that ethnic Serbs in Kosovo will not be prosecuted for their participation in the roadblocks.

- We have also received guarantees that Kosovo's security forces will not come to the Serb-majority north without the consent of KFOR commanders and representatives of the local population, Petar Petkovic says, according to Reuters. 

Kfor is a NATO-led international peacekeeping force with a UN mandate that is tasked with maintaining peace and public security in Kosovo, according to the armed forces.

A conflict that can blow up at any time

There has always been tension between Kosovo and Serbia, which has never recognized the new state that declared its independence in 2008. The situation has worsened in recent weeks and many fear that the conflict between the countries could flare up again.

Ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo have during December set up roadblocks on country roads near the border with Serbia.

Kosovo has requested that the NATO-led international peacekeeping force Kfor demolish the barricades.

Shootings directed at Kfor and the Kosovo Police have also occurred.