(17 Oct 2018) Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Wednesday that a US call for the withdrawal of a UN peacekeeping mission from Kosovo would leave his country no choice but to "protect" its people in the former province.
Vucic did not specify what kind of action Serbia could take in Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008.
But his veiled threat on Wednesday came after US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley called for the development of "an exit strategy" for the UN mission, known as UNMIK.
Vucic said its departure, as well as the possible formation of the Kosovo army, would leave Serbia no choice "but to protect our country and our people."
UNMIK was deployed in Kosovo in 1999 after NATO intervened to stop a Serb crackdown on Kosovo Albanian separatists.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008.
Serbia and its allies Russia and China don't recognise the declaration, but most Western countries do.
Speaking after a meeting with Vucic, Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen said the ongoing difficult Brexit talks should not have direct consequences on other countries willing to join the European Union.
Van der Bellen said he hopes that Serbia will open new EU membership negotiating chapters at the EU summit in December.
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