Kosovo-area troop buildup is denied by Serbia's president

After a week-old shootout that killed four people and heightened Balkan tensions, Serbia's president denied U.S. and other reports of a military buildup along the Kosovo border on Sunday, calling them a “campaign of lies”.

This week, the US and EU expressed concern about Serbia's increased military deployment near its former province and urged Belgrade to reduce its troop presence there.

Kosovo's government said Saturday it was tracking Serbian military movements from “three different directions.” It urged Serbia to immediately withdraw its troops and demilitarize the border.

“A campaign of lies... has been launched against our Serbia,” President Aleksandar Vucic said in an Instagram video. Their lies about our military forces are numerous.... They're upset Serbia has "sophisticated weapons."

After heavily armed Serb gunmen and Kosovo police officers clashed in northern Kosovo last Sunday, tensions rose. NATO announced it would strengthen a peacekeeping force in Kosovo after the worst clash since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008.

Serbia denies Kosovo's claims that it trained the 30 men who shot police officers, killing one, and barricaded themselves in an Orthodox Christian monastery in northern Kosovo. Three insurgents died in the hours-long shootout.

Kosovo investigators also suspected Russian involvement in the violence. Russia's main European ally is Serbia, and the West fears Moscow may try to create trouble in the Balkans to distract from the Ukraine war.

“We will continue to invest in our defense but Serbia wants peace,” the president said Sunday. “Everything they said they made up and lied, and they knew.”