The NATO chief on Wednesday expressed hope that Serbia will engage in the EU-facilitated dialogue in a bid to reduce tension in northern Kosovo.
Jens Stoltenberg's remarks came after his meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic at the NATO headquarters in Brussels.
"We call on all parties to reduce tensions and refrain from escalatory actions. We strongly believe that the only path forward is to engage in the European Union-facilitated dialogue which is strongly supported by NATO. Serbia is a long-standing partner of NATO. We trust that it will engage in the dialogue in a constructive way," Stoltenberg said.
He recalled that in May, NATO troops were attacked and 93 people were injured.
"Three of them were seriously injured. This is unacceptable. NATO has increased its presence with around 500 troops in response to the increased tension and difficulties in northern Kosovo. NATO will continue to ensure to conduct our mandate in an impartial way and ensure to have the forces available to implement the UN mandate," said Stoltenberg.
Vucic, for his part, said that he is concerned about the recent developments in the north of Kosovo and requested NATO to provide safety and security for Serbs in Kosovo.
"It is becoming more and more a security issue than a political issue," he said.
"Based on a UN resolution, NATO is responsible for the security and safety issue of Kosovo. We will ask you to provide safety and security for the Serbs in Kosovo because in the last 6 months, there were at least 6 Serbs shot by Albanians, mainly by their security forces," the Serbian president said.
Following the April elections in northern Kosovo, the EU said the low turnout among Serbs did not provide municipalities with long-term political solutions.
Ethnic Serbs have been protesting the election of Albanian mayors since late May.
On May 30, NATO decided to send 700 more troops to the Kosovo Force (KFOR), the alliance-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, after 30 of its soldiers were injured during the unrest. A contingent of Turkish troops was among the reinforcements.
Kosovo and Serbia must reach a final agreement and resolve disputes to move forward with their integration into the EU.
When Pristina declared its independence 15 years ago, most UN member states, including the U.S., UK, France, Germany, and Türkiye, recognized it as a separate country from Serbia, but Belgrade continues to regard it as its territory.
