- They had been raised in protest against the discriminatory policy of the Kosovar government.

An armed guard at the border between Kosovo and Serbia.

The Serbs remove the barricades that have been blocking the north of Kosovo since the 10th: "They will be removed, but not mistrust"

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, has announced that the Kosovo Serbs have begun to remove on Thursday the barricades that have blocked traffic in the north of Kosovo since the last 10th, erected in protest against what they believe to be a discriminatory policy. of the Kosovar government.

"The barricades will be removed, but the mistrust will not," Vucic said in the southern Serbian town of Raska after hours of meeting with representatives of Kosovo's Serb minority, reports Serbian public television RTS.

He indicated that the withdrawal started this Thursday and will be completed in one or two days.

Discriminatory policies

According to Vucic, the representatives of the Serbs insisted that they have no confidence in Pristina. "If the arrests and terror against us continue, we will forever close northern Kosovo to the discriminatory institutions of Pristina," his message read.

The Kosovo Serbs also called for Serbia not to recognize the independence of the former majority Albanian-populated province of Kosovo, which it proclaimed in 2008.

The Kosovar Serbs have been protesting for almost three weeks against policies and measures of the Kosovar government that they consider being increasing discrimination against this minority, and they accuse Pristina of restricting their rights.

Vucic said he received guarantees from the United States and the European Union that the Serbs' demands for the lifting of the blockade will be met.

Transfer of Dejan Pantic

The announcement of the removal of the barricades comes hours after the former Kosovar Serb policeman Dejan Pantic, whose arrest on the 10th sparked strong tensions between Pristina, on the one hand, and the Kosovar Serb minority and Belgrade, on the other, was transferred from the jail to your home, where you must remain under house arrest.

His detention, which the Serbs consider unfounded and intimidation of the Serb population, had sparked discontent.

For the removal of the blockade, the Serbs also called for the release of several more people, as well as the withdrawal of special police units sent to the north by Pristina, arguing that their presence violates international agreements.

Vucic also indicated that the northern Serbs will not return to the Kosovo institutions, which they abandoned last November until Pristina fulfills its commitment to grant some kind of autonomy to that minority.

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