Today, the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs dismissed as unfounded the allegations of Kosovo officials about the detention of buses with Kosovo registration marks at the Batrovci crossing, asserting that “intensified control of all passengers” at the border crossings is underway and that it is a question of “security checks”.
The secretary of the Kosovo Liaison Office in Serbia, Fatmir Haxholli, stated earlier today that the Serbian authorities on the border with Croatia have been “blocking” at least four buses with Kosovo registrations and passengers from Kosovo at the Batrovci crossing since midnight.
Haxholli assessed that the blockade at the Batrovci-Bajakovo border crossing is a “sign of revenge and absurd nervousness” of official Belgrade due to the vote in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on support for Kosovo’s membership in that organization.
Later today, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia rejected those accusations in a statement, stating that “intensified control of all passengers at border crossings is underway” and that “security checks” are being carried out, the aim of which is “greater safety of citizens”, which can “cause longer detention” at the border crossing.
The Ministry emphasizes that all citizens from the territory of Kosovo are “allowed unimpeded entry” and “strongly rejects insinuations that they are denied entry due to the possession of documents” issued by the authorities in Pristina, urging Kosovo officials “not to spread panic and falsely inform the public”, Hina writes.
