UPDATE - NATO ready to prevent escalation between Kosovo, Serbia: Alliance chief

ADDS REMAKRS BY STONTENBERG, VUCIC, KURTI

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) - NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday that the alliance stands ready to prevent an escalation between Kosovo and Serbia because of recent border tensions.

Stoltenberg spoke at two separate news conferences following meetings with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

Tensions between Serbia and Kosovo rose earlier this month because of Kosovo’s planned implementation of a new law making it mandatory for everyone, including Serbs living in Kosovo, to have a Kosovo ID card and license plate.

Kosovo, however, delayed the new measures until Sept. 1.

Vucic and Kurti will hold talks Thursday with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and the bloc's special representative for Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak.

“It is the responsibility of all parties, particularly the officials from Belgrade and Pristina, to prevent escalation again,” said Stoltenberg.

He urged both sides to show restraint and to “avoid unhelpful rhetoric.”

The NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo (KFOR) is ready to intervene if “stability is jeopardized,” he said. “I will take any measures that are necessary to ensure a safe and secure environment and freedom of movement for all the people in Kosovo.”

“Everything has to be done to prevent escalation,” he added.

Stoltenberg also urged the Serbian and Kosovar leaders to show flexibility and engage in constructive talks at the upcoming meeting because the EU-facilitated Belgrade-Pristina dialogue is the right way to find a solution for both communities.

Vucic said he expected “difficult discussions” with his Kosovar counterpart since “we do not agree on almost anything.”

He said Serbia is committed to respecting international law, including UN resolutions and the Brussels agreement on the principles of normalization of relations.

The Serbian leader also commended KFOR’s role in ensuring stability in the region and stressed that while keeping its neutrality, Serbia intends to strengthen its cooperation with NATO and avoid escalation.

Kurti thanked NATO for its “extraordinary contribution to freedom, the reconstruction of infrastructure destroyed during the war, and the security of our country and our citizens.”

He said that Kosovo’s goal is to first join NATO’s Partnership for Peace program and the Alliance itself in the long run.

Launched in 2011, the EU-led Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue aims to normalize relations between the Western Balkan neighbors.

The former Serbian province of Kosovo declared independence Feb. 17, 2008, and is recognized by more than 100 countries. But Belgrade continues to see Kosovo as its own territory.

Mandated by the UN, the KFOR international peacekeeping mission has been operating in Kosovo since 1999.