Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Sunday held separate phone calls with his Kosovar and Serbian counterparts as tensions between Serbia and Kosovo continued to rise.

Çavuşoğlu stressed that "common sense must prevail" in the region, according to a statement by the Foreign Ministry.

Underlining the importance that Turkey attaches to peace and stability in the Balkans, Çavuşoğlu said Ankara is ready to do its part to reduce tensions.

He added on Twitter that new tensions would not benefit anyone.

Kosovo's government early Monday accused neighboring Serbia of trying to destabilize the country as ethnic Serbs blocked roads and conducted other actions in the north apparently in a dispute over vehicle license plates and identity cards.

A Kosovo government statement said that many "aggressive acts" like road blocking and shooting in the northern areas dominated by ethnic Serbs were committed Sunday and charged that they were incited by Serbia.

Kosovo was part of Serbia until an armed uprising in 1998-1999 by the territory’s ethnic Albanian majority triggered a bloody crackdown by Serbia. A NATO bombing campaign to force Serbia’s troops out of Kosovo ended the war. But Serbia refuses to recognize Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence.

Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti and President Vjosa Osmani blamed Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic for the protests.

"Vucic and (Petar) Petkovic are the main responsible persons for the riots," Kurti wrote in Facebook. Petkovic is Belgrade’s official in charge of Kosovo.

Osmani also wrote on Facebook that "Vucic’s efforts to destabilize Kosovo" would fail.

Vucic responded by saying that "we’ve never been in a more complex situation than today" and blamed Kosovo for the escalating tensions over the license plates and ID cards.

The NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo said it was monitoring the "tense" situation in northern Kosovo and was "prepared to intervene if stability is jeopardized."

The force said it would "take whatever measures are necessary to keep a safe and secure environment in Kosovo at all times, in line with its U.N. mandate."

The mission, which has some 3,800 soldiers from 28 countries, is led by NATO but is supported by the United Nations, the European Union and others.