Nato: We are very determined against the unilateral opening of the bridge on the Ibar

NATO has warned Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti to refrain from opening the Ibar bridge to traffic because they do not want to risk any kind of violence that would put KFOR soldiers in danger, reports Reuters.

"We are determined against unilateral pressure to open the bridge," a senior NATO official told Reuters, adding that they "do not want to risk any kind of violence that would put KFOR soldiers in danger."

Reuters sources also state that CIA director William Burns urged caution at a meeting with Kurti in August.

Reuters also reminds that the government of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti encouraged Albanian companies to move to the north, as well as that he sometimes visits the north accompanied by security to eat in Albanian restaurants.

Ethnic Serbs see it as part of Kurti's wider behavior to expand the influence of ethnic Albanians in northern Kosovo, according to Reuters.

"The Kurti government's moves in the north in recent years, although legal, often look like a hostile takeover," said Frauke Seebass, a visiting fellow at the German Institute for Foreign and Security Affairs in Brussels, Reuters reports.