The Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, said on Wednesday that it is up to Belgrade and Pristina to avoid the escalation of the situation.

He made these statements after the separate meetings he held with the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti and the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, in Brussels.

Their meeting with the head of NATO comes a day before the negotiations that Kurti and Vucic will hold in Brussels, under the mediation of the European Union.

They were invited for dialogue after the increase in tensions in the north of Kosovo on July 31.

Kosovo Serbs have erected barricades as a sign of dissatisfaction with the move by the Government of Kosovo to implement two decisions on car plates and Serbian documents.

The barricades have been removed after the Government postponed the implementation of the decision to September 1.

Stoltenberg has said that the situation on the ground has improved, although the NATO mission in Kosovo, KFOR, is observing the situation and is ready to intervene in case of destabilization.

Asked what the NATO intervention warning means, Stoltenberg said that KFOR is in close contact with the authorities in Belgrade and Pristina.

“If there is a need, we will move our forces and increase our presence. We have already increased our presence in the north. We will act when necessary, and in a proportional manner.”

Stoltenberg has said that the fact that KFOR is NATO’s largest military mission outside the alliance – with around 4,000 troops – speaks of its commitment to preventing tensions.

The head of NATO said that the neutrality of KFOR is important and that “Kosovo has the opportunity to demonstrate that it is a responsible actor within the Euro-Atlantic community”.