On Monday 16 January, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini called on Serbia and Kosovo to avoid tension –which had started to mount over the weekend, with Belgrade's attempt to let a train through to Mitrovica.
"My message to the parties has been to avoid escalations [in tension], trying to contain both acts and rhetoric", Mogherini told a press conference. " The steps we took both with Belgrade and with Pristina last year [as part of the dialogue on normalising relations] are historical", she said. "The tensions are still high, we constantly see it, but the work I see and the determination I see from the leadership both in Pristina and in Belgrade is a strong one", she added.
Asked about the risk of the dialogue breaking up, Mogherini answered it required "political courage (...), political leadership, political vision". "But what I see is from both sides a determination to continue", she said, adding that the EU was ready to help and facilitate.
On Saturday 14 January, Kosovo's special forces prevented a train from passing that was travelling from Belgrade to Mitrovica, a city in the north of Kosovo. The train was the first to be making this journey in 18 years. It had been a present from Russia and bore the words "Kosovo is Serbia" and Serbian religious icons. However, as it was blocked at the border, it was obliged to turn back. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)