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Delegations from both countries agreed to withdraw police units from two border crossings on Saturday and lift the roadblock, the European External Action Service (EEAS) said.
NATO forces in Kosovo (KFOR) will then be deployed on the border for two weeks to guarantee security and freedom of movement, the EEAS said, helping to negotiate between Serbia and Kosovo.
A working group will meet next month for the first meeting to find a long-term solution to this dispute over the recognition of car number plates.
The dispute erupted about two weeks ago, when Kosovo began demanding that all drivers with Serbian number plates in their cars be replaced with temporary number plates issued by Kosovo border guards.
Serbia claimed that Kosovo’s decision to ban Serbian license plates on cars confirmed Kosovo’s status as an independent state, which Serbia does not recognize. Kosovo, for its part, said its decision was a response to the same Serbian ban that had been in place since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Since then, Serbia has required all those entering the country with cars with Kosovo number plates to be replaced by temporary number plates issued by Serbia.
Belgrade effectively lost control of the predominantly Albanian population of Kosovo in 1999 following NATO military intervention, but in 2008 Pristina unilaterally declared independence from Serbia.
Kosovo’s independence has already been recognized by more than 110 countries, including most European Union member states, but Serbia still considers the former province to be part of its territory. This position is also supported by Belgrade’s ally Russia and China, which are blocking Kosovo’s accession to the UN.
Washington and Brussels have called on Kosovo and Serbia to ease tensions and return to normalization talks. Through the European Union, such negotiations have been going on intermittently for about ten years.
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