Kosovo, Serbia reach deal to deescalate border tensions

By DUSAN STOJANOVIC
Associated Press

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — A European Union mediator says Serbia and Kosovo have reached an agreement to deescalate tensions on their mutual border that have been triggered by a dispute over vehicle license plates. EU mediator Miroslav Lajcak tweeted Thursday that “We have a deal!” He said it came after two days of “intense negotiations.” Kosovo’s government deployed special police forces to the border crossings last week to impose a new rule of removing Serb license plates from cars coming into the country. Kosovo had said that a 10-year-old deal had expired. Pristina said they were replicating what Serbia had done for the past decade.