UN Warns Serbia Over Kosovo Railways
“Any movement of trains south of Lesak by Serbian Railways is a clear challenge against the United Nations authority,” Joachim Ruecker told media.
On Monday, Serb railway workers refused to work for Kosovo's railway company, leading to claims by officials in Belgrade that Serbia now had jurisdiction over a key railway line in Kosovo. However on Tuesday, United Nations police stopped a train from Serbia proper leaving Lesak station on its way south into Kosovo.
Reucker argued Serbia's actions were “a breach of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between Serbia, the UN Mission, UNMIK, and Kosovo Railways in 2003.”
UNMIK says it has retaken control of the rail line between Zvecan and Lesak, two areas in northern Kosovo with a large Serb population.
Ruecker said that “the successful intervention of UNMIK border police reverses the challenges that occurred when Serb Railways illegally sent two of its trains south of Lesak.”
“Any such breach will not be tolerated,” Ruecker concluded.
Ruecker made the statement at a joint conference with Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Hashim Thaci and the Commander of NATO-led peacekeepers, KFOR, Xavier Bout de Marnhac.
The trilateral meeting was intended to discuss the recent security situation, particularly that concerning the railway dispute in the north.
Thaci reiterated that “Kosovo institutions will not tolerate anyone breaking the constitutional order" adding that “there is no challenge which is irresistible.”