BRUSSELS, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- Talks between Serbia and Kosovo to be mediated by the European Union have been canceled after violence in northern Kosovo, EU diplomat Robert Cooper said.
Cooper said the Serbian delegation was "not ready to proceed," the BBC reported Wednesday.
"The dialogue will continue when the Serbian side is ready to re-engage," he said.
The EUobserver reported NATO soldiers had fired live ammunition, rubber bullets and tear gas Tuesday at Kosovar Serbs who attempted to prevent them from dismantling a barricade near the Jarinje crossing point on the Kosovo-Serbia border.
On the other side of the border, the EUobserver said, live fire and pipe bombs were used against troops and 16 civilians and four soldiers were injured.
NATO spokesman Ralph Adametz said the incident began when "an attempt was made to seize (a) soldier's weapon and after a verbal warning a Kfor soldier fired a shot, injuring the civilian attempting to steal the weapon."
NATO soldiers and EU diplomats say Serbian organized crime groups control the territory and want to keep the region in limbo so they can make money smuggling.
The BBC reported Serbia called NATO's actions "absolutely unacceptable" and a hospital official said six of the injured civilians had been shot with live rounds.
The EUobserver also said two police vehicles in Mitrovica were attacked by Kosovar Serbs.
Serbia's chief negotiator said on television talks with Kosovo "will not resume until we see what will happen at the two border crossings."
The estimated 60,000 ethic Serbs living in northern Kosovo reject Pristina's authority.
