France strongly condemned on Friday what it called the unilateral actions of the Pristina authorities in northern Kosovo, which exert an influence on the daily life of the Serbian community.
Through a press release, the French Foreign Ministry said that these actions jeopardize efforts to normalize relations with Serbia, while asking the Kosovo authorities to refrain from any further unilateral actions that would further escalate tensions.
Authorities in Kosovo on Monday closed Serbia's post offices in the north and on Thursday began testing the stability of the main bridge over the Iber that marks the Mitrovica dividing line, in preparation for opening it to car traffic, amid objections from KFOR and western diplomats.
The government of Kosovo says that the opening of the bridge would be a symbol of the normalization of inter-ethnic relations between the north inhabited by a Serbian majority and the south by an Albanian majority.
But plans to open the bridge are opposed by members of the Serbian community, who have jumped into protests and prompted criticism from the United States and the European Union.
The bloc warned that it may increase the punitive measures against Kosovo, which have been in force since June of last year, if the administration in Pristina continues with unilateral and uncoordinated actions in the north, inhabited by a majority of Serbs.
The United States and the European Union demand that these issues be addressed and resolved within the framework of talks on the normalization of Kosovo-Serbia relations, a process that has been stalled for a long time.
