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Putin graffiti in the Serbian capital, Belgrade
Photo:
Darko Vojinovic / AP
Russia has assured friendly Serbia of its support in the conflict with neighboring Kosovo.
"We absolutely support Serbia," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to the Interfax agency in Moscow.
"We support Belgrade's peaceful and constructive position in this regard." The Kremlin spokesman described the new travel rules for Serbs living in Kosovo, which had led to serious tensions at the weekend, as "absolutely unjustified demands" from the Kosovar side.
The new rules stipulate that Serbian identity documents will no longer be recognized at border crossings.
Instead, Serbs should have a provisional document issued there starting this Monday.
The Kosovan authorities justify this with an identical procedure by the Serbian authorities when Kosovar citizens cross the border.
In response to protests by militant Serbs, Kosovo declared on Monday night that it would suspend travel rules for the time being.
Angry people had previously erected barricades in the predominantly Serb populated north of Kosovo.
In addition, shots are said to have been fired in the direction of Kosovan police officers.
Kosovo, which is now almost exclusively inhabited by Albanians, split from Serbia in 1999 with the help of NATO and declared its independence in 2008.
More than 100 countries, including Germany, recognized Kosovo's independence - Russia is not one of them.
mkl/dpa
