European Union (EU) does not question the Kosovo authorities for the investigation of war crimes and is in contact with them in order to have a complete overview of the arrest of some Serbs in the north of Kosovo, said on Thursday Spokesperson for foreign affairs and security policy, Peter Stano.

Special Prosecutor’s Office of Kosovo announced yesterday that it has arrested three people from the Serbian community, on suspicion of committing “war crimes against the civilian population”.

Asked if he was questioning Kosovo’s authority to investigate war crimes cases and bring indictments during a press conference in Brussels today, Stano said: “When I talked about what’s happening in the north of Kosovo regarding the arrests by the police, I did not say that we are questioning anything.”

“I said that we are in close contact with our partners and the relevant authorities to understand what is happening and how these actions are being carried out. I said that we are collecting the necessary information in general”, said Stano.

Stano added that the EU is collecting information about this case and that “if there is a need, the EU will also react publicly”, and that “the position of the EU on the prosecution of war crimes has not changed”.

Prosecutor’s office said that the three arrested have been detained for up to 48 hours, without giving any details of what war crimes they are accused of.

Deputy director of the Kosovo Police for the northern region, Veton Elshani, said on Wednesday for Radio Free Europe that two of the three arrested are from municipalities inhabited by Serbian majority in the north – North Mitrovica and Zvečan.