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A Kosovar policeman at the border with Serbia
Photo:
Marjan Vucetic/AP
Tensions between Kosovo and Serbia continue to ease.
Kosovo has opened two more border crossings.
Since December 10, the crossings have been closed amid recent tensions.
The Merdare, the largest border crossing to Serbia, was opened on Thursday.
Ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo blocked roads for weeks to protest against the government in Pristina.
They refuse to recognize the region's independence.
Serbia designates Kosovo as an autonomous Serbian province.
The dispute raised international concerns, especially as Serbia put its army on alert.
NATO called for restraint and a willingness to engage in dialogue.
The opening of the border crossings followed a pledge by ethnic Serbs to lift road blockades.
And the alert of the Serbian armed forces was also lifted on Thursday.
The EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called the relaxation a "victory of diplomacy" for de-escalation.
Violence can "never be a solution", Borrell tweeted that progress in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina was urgently needed.
Serbia's head of state speaks of "distrust"
However, Serbia's head of state Aleksandar Vučić said the relationship was characterized by "distrust".
Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti emphasized that the barricades had been dismantled “without the intervention of our police”.
The conflict between the countries has been smoldering for more than 20 years.
In 2008, with Western support, Kosovo declared its independence.
This was preceded by a war in 1998 and 1999, in which NATO intervened to protect Albanian civilians.
Until 2008, the UN mission Unmik had administered Kosovo.
hba/Reuters
