President Aleksandar Vucic of Serbia said on Friday that his nation will promptly call a meeting of the UN Security Council in reaction to Kosovo's decision to ban the use of the Serbian dinar in regions that are mostly home to ethnic Serbs.
Kosovo's move, which involves banning the dinar in local transactions within Serb-populated regions, has escalated tensions between the two entities.
Serbia Condemns Kosovo Currency Ban
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic speaks during a joint press conference with Secretary General of the Northern Atlantic Alliance (NATO) following their meeting in Belgrade, on November 21, 2023. Nearly 30 years after the end of its civil war, Bosnia remains fractured along ethnic lines, with NATO troops and later European peacekeepers stationed in the country to help keep the peace.
The decision, implemented by Kosovo's Central Bank last summer, targets areas in the north where ethnic Serbs reside, as most of Kosovo already utilizes the euro, despite not being a member of the European Union.
The ban has particularly affected ethnic Serbs in Kosovo's north, who heavily rely on the Serbian government for financial support, often provided in dinars. President Vucic, in a national address, condemned the ban, accusing Kosovo of attempting to "ethnically cleanse" the Serbs from the region. He characterized the move as a "criminal strike" against the Serbs and vowed that Serbia would not adhere to the currency rule.
Despite the ban, Vucic assured that Serbia would find alternative means to ensure that Kosovo Serbs continue to receive their pensions and salaries from Serbia. He expressed concern for the people in Kosovo, stating, "People are scared, they are waiting in lines to get their money." The president outlined plans to continue delivering funds through an authorized and licensed carrier starting on Monday.
Ethnic Serbs make up approximately 4% of Kosovo's total population of 1.7 million. The historical context of the conflict dates back to the 1998-99 war between Serbian forces and ethnic Albanian separatists, culminating in Kosovo's eventual declaration of independence in 2008, a move not recognized by the government in Belgrade, as per to ABC News.
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Serbia Seeks UN Session
The European Union and the United States have called on Kosovo to reconsider the currency measure, expressing concerns about potential increased tensions in relations between Kosovo and Serbia. President Vucic, known for maintaining warm relations with Russia's Vladimir Putin, urged Western partners to advocate for the rights of the Serbian population in Kosovo.
As a response to the escalating situation, Serbia plans to formally request an urgent session of the UN Security Council on Monday. The EU-facilitated normalization talks between Belgrade and Pristina have faced challenges, with little progress made, especially following a violent incident in September involving masked Serb gunmen and Kosovo police, resulting in four fatalities and heightened tensions.
Serbia and Kosovo both want to be members of the European Union, but EU representatives have warned that their unwillingness to make exemptions during talks could harm their prospects of getting in. The recent events show how fragile the two entities' relationship is and how it may affect regional stability in general, according to Japan Today.
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