Kosovo Prime Minister: Serbia Imposes Reciprocity

Albin Kurti (BetaPhoto/Armenija Zajmi Besevic)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said on Sept. 20 that a decision to make a reciprocal move and order that Serbian vehicles must use temporary car plates issued by the Kosovo authorities was not what Kosovo wanted to do, but rather what Serbia forced it to do.

The kosovo-online.com portal quoted Kurti as saying that the purpose of the decision was not to affect the movement of Serbian citizens in Kosovo, or destabilization of any kind, but that it only reflected commitment to the agreements reached in Brussels.

"The temporary car plates are not what we want, it's a decision imposed by the other side. The citizens of Kosovo have been paying for such plates when entering Serbia for ten years," Kurti said, adding that the measure taken on Sept. 20 was completely legal and in full compliance with a deadline for removing the existing plates.

"The Ministry of Interior Affairs has taken necessary steps to remove all illegal signs in the territory of the Republic of Kosovo, the border crossings included. Regardless of the nationality of the owner of invalid car plates, they will be confiscated," Kurti said, adding that "at all border crossings in Kosovo" the cars with Serbian registration plates on, entering the territory of Kosovo, will get temporary car plates.