Kosovo authorities have delayed plans to fine drivers who refuse to replace old Serbian-issued license plates by another 48 hours. The USA asked it [Kosovo] for this.
This is reported by Reuters.
Almost 50 000 ethnic Serbs living in northern Kosovo refuse to recognize the authority of the partially recognized republic and still consider themselves part of Serbia.
“I accept his [the American ambassadorʼs] request for a 48-hour delay. I am happy to work with the USA and the EU to find a solution over the next two days," the Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti noted.
Earlier, the Kosovo police said that the fines should start issuing from 08:00 local time on Tuesday. They will affect approximately 10 000 drivers.
Pristina and Belgrade failed to reach an agreement on Monday after holding emergency talks mediated by the EU. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell, who presided over the negotiations, put the main blame on Kosovo, because there they rejected the EUʼs plan to settle the conflict. The opposition in Kosovo also criticized Kurti for jeopardizing the partially recognized stateʼs relations with the USA and the EU.
- On July 31, Kosovo informed that it would stop admitting people with Serbian documents to its territory, which caused an aggravation of the security situation in the region. From August 1, the regime was supposed to operate, according to which separate documents were to be issued to holders of Serbian documents when entering Kosovo. They [the authority of Kosovo] also refused to let cars with Serbian registration into the country, the car license plates also had to be changed to Kosovar ones.
- The Kosovo authorities called the move like "in response", as Serbia has not recognized Kosovoʼs documents for more than 11 years. The President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić expressed concern about such a decision. On the morning of August 1, the government of Kosovo agreed to postpone for a month its decisions, due to which the Serbs protested.
- According to Pristinaʼs plan, the re-registration of cars with Serbian license plates should end by April 21. Serbia disputes this and insists that the license plates, which date back to the 1990s, when Kosovo was part of Serbia, are neutral regarding Kosovoʼs status.
- On November 20, the Kosovo government announced that starting November 22, violators will be fined €150.