The escalation of tensions began after the Government of Kosovo decided to ban using the neighboring country’s dinar and introduce the euro in areas where the Serbian minority lives.

The provision bans banks and other financial institutions in Serb-populated areas from using the dinar in local transactions.

Kosovo’s central bank issued the new rules last summer. Although most people use the euro, it is not part of the European Union.

Some regions in northern Kosovo with a Serb majority continue using the dinar as their currency.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic described Kosovo’s ban on the dinar as a policy that cleanses ethnically the Serbs from Kosovo.

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