US Penalises Kosovo After Unrest in Serb-Majority North

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...