After hours of tension in the north of Kosovo, the morning found the four Serbian-majority communes filled with slogans and banners.

All the four north communes woke up with the message “Welcome to the Union of the Serbian Communes”.

The message appeared in the main boulevard in the northern part of Mitrovica and in the road signs at the entrances and exits of the communes.

Serbs living in the north use license plates and documents issued by Serbian authorities, refusing to recognize institutions under the capital, Prishtina.

The government of Prime Minister Albin Kurti said it would give Serbs a transitional period of 60 days to get Kosovo license plates.

The government also decided that as of Aug. 1, all citizens from Serbia visiting Kosovo would have to get an extra document at the border to grant them permission to enter.

A similar rule is applied by Belgrade authorities to Kosovars who visit Serbia.

Only the Albanian government remained silent for the tense situation and today Premier Edi Rama continued to defend the Open Balkans initiative. The Open Balkans’ initiator, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, in the recent days has spoken only about war and victory in the north of Kosovo.

By continuing to defend the Open Balkans, Rama has only confirmed that the north of Kosovo has now become part of the Serbian-led initiative.