Serbia's president calls for barricades to be removed
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic asked the representatives and officials of Serbs in the partially recognized Kosovo to withdraw from the barricades they built amid the ongoing tensions in that territory, the country's Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Petar Petkovic told reporters on Wednesday.
Petkovic noted that Serbia has received "stronger-than-ever guarantees" from the United States and the European Union that Belgrade's requests will be fulfilled, most of them referring to the release of several officials of Serbian ethnicity that Kosovo's police arrested. Petkovic added that it was also promised that those who participated in peaceful protests or stood at the barricades will not be detained or criminally charged.
Earlier in the day, the US and the EU urged Belgrade and Pristina to "unconditionally de-escalate the situation," while welcoming the decision that "no lists of Kosovo Serb citizens to be arrested or prosecuted for peaceful protests/barricades exist."