NAIROBI. May 29 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has described the ongoing escalation in Kosovo "as an explosion looming in the center of Europe."
"You are aware of the decisions made by President Vucic: the army has been put on high alert and deployed to the border. The decision will be made by the Serbian president, the Serbian people and the Serbs defending their rights in the north of the Kosovo autonomous region," Lavrov said at a press conference on Monday.
"A big explosion in the center of Europe is looming here," he said.
"The situation is disquieting. The West has taken a course towards total subjugation of everyone who somehow speaks one's mind," Lavrov said.
The situation in northern Kosovo escalated last week after Kosovo special units took control of administrative buildings in predominantly Serbian communities. Clashes occurred, and stun grenades and tear gas were used. Local Serbs refused to allow Kosovo Albanians, heads of local administrations who won municipal elections boycotted by Serbians in late April, to take their workplaces.
Serbian Defense Minister Milos Vucevic said that all was quiet in northern Kosovo on Sunday but tension was in the air. The Serbian army deployed on the administrative border with Kosovo remains on high alert.