Serbia’s president denies troop buildup on Kosovo border

Aleksandar Vucic said his country ‘wants peace’ (Darko Vojinovic/AP)

Serbia’s president has denied US and other reports of a military buildup along the border with Kosovo, complaining of a “campaign of lies” against his country in the wake of a recent shootout in which four people were killed and which fuelled tensions in the volatile Balkan region.

Both the United States and the European Union expressed concern earlier this week about what they said was an increased military deployment by Serbia’s border with its former province, and they urged Belgrade to scale down its troop presence there.