UK urges restraint in Kosovo – Serbia tensions

Britain has urged Kosovo and Serbia to reduce tensions and called for the immediate release of three Kosovo policemen detained by Serbia on 14 June.

“We call for the immediate release of the three Kosovo policemen.

“We urge Kosovo and Serbia to exercise maximum restraint, avoid unilateral measures and take immediate action to reduce tensions,” the foreign office said in a statement.

Kosovo is a mainly ethnic Albanian populated territory that was formerly a province of Serbia. It declared independence in 2008.

Serbia has refused to recognize Kosovo’s statehood and still considers it part of Serbia, even though it has no formal control there.

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Kosovo’s independence has been recognized by about 100 countries, including the United States. Russia, China and five EU countries, most of them with separatist regions of their own, have sided with Serbia.

The deadlock has kept tensions simmering and prevented full stabilization of the Balkan region after the bloody wars in the 1990s.