Russia on Monday criticized the Kosovo government for the “bloodshed” that occurred the day before during a deadly incident near the border with Serbia, and warned it not to drag “the entire Balkan region into a dangerous abyss”, reports AFP.

“There is no doubt that the bloodshed yesterday (Sunday) is a direct and immediate consequence of the so-called “Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s policy of fueling the conflict,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said, warning that any attempt to escalate the situation would lead to “the entire Balkan region to a dangerous abyss.”

According to Moscow, the Kosovo police “has long been discredited by systematic punitive actions against the Serbian community.”

“The main weapon for ousting the Serbs from Kosovo is the special forces armed to the teeth, which invaded non-Albanian areas,” Russian diplomacy also accuses.

Referring to the embargo on goods from Serbia, Russia claims that “populations in the north (Kosovo) have been on the verge of a humanitarian disaster for several months.”

“There is a direct threat of a return to ethnic cleansing practiced by Albanian extremists in Kosovo,” the Russian agency added.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Monday accused “parts of the international community” of supporting Kosovo in “brutal ethnic cleansing” against ethnic Serbs, a statement he made in the presence of Russia’s ambassador to Belgrade, Aleksandar Bokan-Garchenko, while the European Commission warned it could impose sanctions against Serbia if Belgrade does not take steps to ease tensions with Kosovo after an armed incident between Kosovo police and a group believed to be ethnic Serbs barricaded themselves in a monastery on Sunday, EFE reported.

“I informed (Russian Ambassador) Bokan-Gharchenko that a brutal ethnic cleansing is being carried out in Kosovo, organized by (Prime Minister of Kosovo) Albin Kurti with the support of part of the international community,” Vučić wrote on Instagram after meeting with the Russian diplomat.

Meanwhile, Kosovo police are investigating an armed incident on Sunday involving a group of gunmen, apparently composed of Kosovo Serbs and/or Serbs, who barricaded themselves inside a Serbian Orthodox monastery in the Kosovo village of Banska. Three people from this group and a Kosovo policeman were killed in the fighting, after which the Kosovo police took control of the monastery.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti immediately accused Belgrade of supporting the “terrorist” group, which he said consisted of about 30 people. Vučić rejected the allegations and blamed the incident on repression of members of the Kosovo Serb minority, with the Serbian president also accusing the international mission of KFOR of being passive in the face of the incident.

Reacting to the armed incident in Kosovo, the European Commission on Monday warned Serbia that just as it did to Kosovo by imposing restrictive measures on it due to insufficient efforts by the government in Pristina to reduce tensions with Belgrade, the same could be done to Belgrade. the latter if he thinks there are reasons.