“The police operation is over and special police units have returned to their bases,” Brahim Sadriu told The Associated Press.

The surprise operation by the special police force launched late on Monday, aimed at extending Kosovo’s government authority at the two disputed border crossings in the country’s north, resulted in the death of an officer, wounding of four others, and condemnation from the European Union.

The region has been a flash point of ethnic tensions for years and NATO peacekeepers and EU police have struggled to stamp their authority fearing a backlash from minority Serbs supported by Belgrade, who reject Kosovo’s declaration of independence in 2008.

In a bid to ease tensions NATO’s Kosovo commander Maj. Gen. Buehler is meeting Serbia’s top Kosovo officials Borko Stefanovic and Goran Bogdanovic in the northern Kosovo town of Zvecane.

A NATO official, who requested anonymity in order to release privileged information, said Buehler brokered a deal early Tuesday that would see special police withdrawing, local Serbs ending their blockade of the main roads and border points resuming to function with both ethnic Albanian and Serb border and customs officials on the site.

Pristina initially denied there was a deal, but local media quoted Interior Minister Bajram Rexhepi on Wednesday saying the agreement was in place.

It remains unclear if Serb representatives would agree to customs officials working at the border crossings, a move they see as an endorsement of Kosovo’s statehood.

Kosovo’s Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said the operation was necessary as the region had become a legal black hole, with local Serbs rejecting Pristina’s rule and taking orders from Serbia as part of Belgrade’s ongoing campaign to undermine Kosovo’s 2008 secession.

It also came at a time when talks between Kosovo and Serbia, facilitated by the EU, have hit an impasse.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Serbia has said it will not recognize the new state and Serbs living in Kosovo’s north do not recognize Pristina’s authority over them.