Russia's Balkan power play continues as Kosovo tensions flare

A recent siege at a monastery in Kosovo saw Moscow take another chance to defend Serbia.

A shocking incident in Kosovo this weekend saw 30 armed men take refuge in a monastery after the killing of a police officer. 

During the ensuing siege, multiple assailants - apparently "masked and equipped with heavy weapons" - were killed in "several battles" with Kosovo police, according to the authorities. 

Kosovo's president, Vjosa Osmani, claimed the violence could be traced back to neighbouring Serbia, which refuses to recognise its independence.

"These attacks prove, if it was still necessary, the destabilising power of criminal gangs, organised by Serbia, who have been destabilising Kosovo and the region for a long time,” she said.

Serbia, meanwhile, has distanced itself from the attack, but it has been defended by none other than Russia, which blamed the recent violence and heated rhetoric in the region squarely on Kosovo.

"There is no doubt the bloodshed [on Sunday] is a direct and immediate consequence of the policy of inciting conflict of the so-called Prime Minister Albin Kurti", said the Russian Foreign Ministry. 

It warned any attempt to escalate the situation would be likely to lead "the entire Balkan region over a dangerous precipice".