Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said on Twitter on Tuesday morning that he had accepted a request from Washington “for a 48-hour postponement of the introduction of fines” for cars with Serbian plates.
The dispute erupted after Kosovo said the country’s ethnic Serbs would be penalized if they did not swap vehicle license plates issued by Serbia for registration numbers issued by Pristina.
The delay helped calm tensions in northern Kosovo, a day after European Union-mediated negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina over the potentially explosive scheme failed to produce results.
The dispute has sounded alarm bells in the EU, which has been seeking to normalize ties between Serbia and Kosovo and wants both to refrain from provocative gestures.
The underlying source of tension is Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia. The latter does not recognize the move and has encouraged Kosovo’s Serb minority to remain loyal to Belgrade.
Of Kosovo’s 120,000-strong minority, about 10,000 have Serbia-issued car registrations.
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