Tensions in the Balkans are reaching a new critical point. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has issued a direct and sharp threat to the authorities in Pristina that Belgrade may cut off water supply to the key hydroelectric power plant for Kosovo.
The reason for the extreme measure is the ongoing and systematic persecution of the Serbian minority in the northern part of the partially recognized republic.
Kosovo's energy and water security largely depend on the artificial Lake Ujman (known in Serbia as Gazivode). The strategic reservoir not only powers the local hydroelectric power plant, but also provides the necessary cooling for the country's main coal-fired power plants, which generate almost all of the electricity for Kosovo citizens. As control over the water infrastructure in the area remains disputed, Belgrade holds significant leverage over Pristina.
Serbia's reaction was prompted by the Kosovo administration's recent moves, which include closing Serbian institutions and forcibly demolishing structures around the lake on the pretext that they are illegal. The government's office for Kosovo in Belgrade officially described these actions as a policy aimed at "destroying and usurping everything Serbian."
The international community and the European Union have already called on the Kosovo authorities to stop the destruction in the disputed region and to stop the escalation that threatens the fragile peace in the Balkans. A possible water cut by Serbia would trigger an unprecedented humanitarian and energy crisis in Kosovo.