Izvestia: What is the cause of the tension between Serbia and Kosovo and does it amount to war?

The confrontation between the Serb population of the municipalities of Zvecan, Safirna, Leposavić, Zubin Potok, our Ambassador Mitrovica, the Kosovo Police and the international security forces under the auspices of NATO continues.

In a report published by the Russian newspaper "Izvestia", Valentin Loginov says that the Serbian army is on high alert on the border with Kosovo, where the elected mayors were sworn in on May 25 despite Serbs questioning the legitimacy of the vote due to the low voter turnout below 4%.

Serbian politicians warn that the current situation portends the beginning of a heated phase of the conflict, while Ivan Kostic, a lawmaker from the parliamentary party "Doors", expects Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to turn to Russia for help.

Confrontation in Kosovo

The situation in Kosovo remains tense and was exacerbated on 26 May by attempts by Kosovo security forces to seize buildings in 4 departments that Pristina seized after the 23 April elections, which were won by Kosovo Albanian representatives against the backdrop of the Serbian list's boycott of the elections.

Serbs continue to fight the seizure of municipal administrative buildings in northern Kosovo and Metohija in an attempt to regain control, while NATO-sponsored international security forces prohibit their approach.

The situation is worsening in the municipalities of Zvecan, Leposavić and Zubin Potok after local residents demanded the abolition of the ban on access to administrative buildings, the withdrawal of the Kosovo Police and the departure of elected Albanian mayors.

On the other hand, the countries that stand by Pristina on the issue of settling the tension between Serbia and Kosovo condemned the Pristina measures. The United Kingdom, Germany, the United States, France, the European Union and NATO have called for an immediate de-escalation.

However, Serbian authorities are preparing for different scenarios after Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic compared Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, suggesting a conflict between the predominantly Serb autonomous province of Kosovo and Metohija.

The Serbian president warns that the worst has yet to happen and sees a major conflict as possible, because the Serbs are determined to stop the "provocative actions" of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, and that the latter "will never back down because he wants and dreams of being a copy of Zelenskiy".

In the midst of the unrest, the Serbian president addressed the people on 29 May, outlining the goals Pristina was aiming for.

Controversial elections

Aleksandar Cesili, deputy head of the Serbian Radical Party, says all Pristina's actions are aimed at destabilizing the region and driving the Serb community out of Kosovo and Metohija.

"The main Western countries sponsoring the so-called independence of Kosovo have for years supported the actions of Kosovo Albanians and apartheid policies," Cesili said.

"Pristina's provocations multiplied after the illegal and illegitimate elections in the north that resulted in Albanian separatists running for the posts of mayors of Serbia," Luzhinov said.

These measures are a pressure on Serbia to recognize Kosovo, and if tensions escalate, Serbia will have no choice but to protect Serbs in Kosovo.

On the other hand, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti met with MEP Viola von Kramon, stressing that elected mayors are at the service of all citizens of the region.

After the four new mayors were sworn in on 25 May, the Serb List announced that it would not allow the "occupation of the north" and would protect itself from repression by the Kosovo authorities by all means from June <>.

Vucic is currently between a rock and a hard place, that is, Serbs and the West. With the Serb leader in Kosovo, Goran Rakić, calling on Belgrade to suspend dialogue with Pristina, the question of resolving the situation in Kosovo is in doubt.