Germany has welcomed the new developments in the Western Balkans as tensions ease between Serbia and Kosovo, but they declined to comment on Kosovo’s request for more NATO peacekeepers in the region.

“This is a good sign, that the two sides have come closer to each other and that the Serbian minority in the north of Kosovo has removed the barricades,” said the government’s deputy spokesperson, Christiane Hoffmann in Berlin.

She was referring to the barricades of Serbian militants erected in recent weeks in dozens of locations in the north of Kosovo, blocking the access roads to two border points with Serbia, writes KosovaPress.

For its part, the government of Kosovo reopened the largest border point with Serbia.

“The priority now is that the dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo continues to be supported. The German government is doing this very actively,” said Hoffmann.

Germany also reaffirmed its support for the European Union’s mediation efforts. However, neither the government nor the Foreign Ministry have commented on the request of the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, to strengthen NATO’s presence in Kosovo.

“A significant increase in NATO soldiers and military equipment in our country would improve security and peace in Kosovo and the entire Western Balkan region,” Kurti told the German newspaper “Die Welt.”

The NATO-led defense force, KFOR, has been tasked with ensuring security throughout Kosovo since 1999. It currently has almost 3,800 members, including about 70 German soldiers present in the region.