Russian convoy with aid for Kosovo resumes its way

A Russian Emergencies Ministry convoy carrying humanitarian aid, blocked earlier on the border between Serbia and Kosovo, has resumed its way, a spokesman for the ministry said on Friday. A total of 25 trucks carrying electric generators, blankets, clothes, food and cooking gear were blocked by the European Union Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) after rejecting an escort. The proposed escort included customs and police officers representing Kosovo, whose independence is not recognized by Russia. “The convoy resumed its way on the territory of Kosovo at 4:00 Moscow time [0:00 GMT],” the spokesman said. An agreement to unblock the situation around the convoy was reached last night at the Russia-EU summit. The humanitarian cargo weighing a total of 284 metric tons is to be taken to the Red Cross department in Kosovska Mitrovica, the largest city in the predominantly Serb-populated northern Kosovo. Kosovo, a landlocked region with a population of mainly ethnic Albanians, declared its independence from Serbia in February 2008. Ethnic Serbs account as much as 10 percent of Kosovo's two-million population. Both Serbia and Russia do not recognize Kosovo's independence.