Kosovo announced on Wednesday the closure of all offices of “parallel” Serbian institutions operating in the country.
Interior minister Xhelal Sveçla said on social media:
“The era of parallel and criminal Serbian municipalities and institutions in the Republic of Kosovo has come to an end. Today, the parallel Serbian municipal offices in Lipjan, Obiliq, Prishtina, Fushe Kosove, Vushtrri, Novoberde, Kamenice, Viti, Rahovec, Skenderaj, as well as the illegal postal and tax offices, have been shut down. As we have committed, we do not allow any parallelism, especially criminal acts by Serbia, to undermine the Constitution and the rule of law in our country.”
Kosovo recently closed several offices of Serbian institutions, especially in the northern regions of the country. Kosovo’s population is overwhelmingly made up of ethnic Albanians, but it does have a Serb minority, mostly in the north, near neighbouring Serbia, a region of the country that has seen turmoil in recent years.
Recent problems between Kosovo and Serbia also threaten to strain bilateral relations.
Serbia’s refusal to recognise Kosovo as an independent state following its declaration of independence in 2008 remains the main cause of frequent clashes between the two countries. The US, the European Union and Turkey, among others, recognise an independent Kosovo.
Within the EU-mediated Belgrade-Pristina dialogue process, launched in 2011, efforts are underway to normalise relations and eventually achieve mutual recognition between Kosovo and Serbia.
