Daily Times

Kosovo and Serbia continued to sling allegations at each other on Sunday, just days after an explosion targeting a strategic canal in Kosovo sent tensions soaring between the long-time rivals.

During a press conference, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti accused Serbia of “copying Russian methods to threaten Kosovo and our region in general” after the explosion on Friday on the waterway near Zubin Potok, an area of Kosovo’s volatile north dominated by ethnic Serbs.

“Despite this, the effort is also destined to fail, as Kosovo is based on Western democratic values,” added Kurti.

The blast damaged a canal supplying water to hundreds of thousands of people and cooling systems at two coal-fired power plants that generate most of Kosovo’s electricity. Kurti’s comments came just hours after Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic slammed the stream of accusations from Pristina during a live address to the country.

Vucic said the explosion and Kosovo’s accusations were “an attempt at a large and ferocious hybrid attack” on Serbia.