The Kremlin called on Monday to end tensions between Serbia and Kosovo by “diplomatic means” after the attacks on police, while demanding that the rights of Serbs be “guaranteed”, AFP and Agerpres reported.

“We are advocating that the parties make efforts of a peaceful nature so that this situation can be settled diplomatically,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmytro Peskov told reporters. “We are advocating that all rights of Serbs be guaranteed,” Peskov added.

Russia is a close supporter of Belgrade, as the two countries have long historical and religious ties.

Tensions escalated late last week in northern Kosovo after unidentified gunmen clashed with police and threw a stun grenade at European Union law enforcement forces deployed in the region as part of the EULEX mission.

Serbian demonstrators also erected barricades, paralyzing traffic at two border crossings between Kosovo and Serbia, to protest the arrest of a former police officer.

Pristina and Belgrade blamed each other for this latest series of incidents, which forced Kosovo to postpone local elections in Serb-majority municipalities to April 23, originally scheduled for December 18.

The former Serbian province of Kosovo, populated mostly by ethnic Albanians, declared its independence in 2008. This independence has been recognized by the US and most EU countries, but not by Belgrade, encouraging the Serbian minority in northern Kosovo to challenge Pristina’s rule.

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