The United States, NATO and European Union urged maximum restraint in the north of Kosovo, as authorities closed a third border crossing on Wednesday and tensions escalated with local Serbs over its 2008 independence.
MITROVICA, Kosovo - Kosovo Serbs who have been blocking roads in northern Kosovo for 19 days have agreed to start removing barricades starting Thursday
Kosovo Serbs to start removing road barricades symbolic of rising tensions, following calls by the European Union to defuse tensions underlined by the West's rift with Russia.
For more than 20 years, Kosovo has been a source of tension between the West, which backed its independence, and Russia, which supports Serbia in its efforts to block Kosovo's membership of global organisations including the United Nations. The United States, NATO and European Union urged maximum restraint in the north of Kosovo, as authorities closed a third border crossing on Wednesday and tensions escalated with local Serbs over its 2008 independence.