His plea came three weeks after 38 soldiers from the KFOR mission were wounded in clashes with Serb protesters in Kosovo's flashpoint north, in what he said was the worst flare-up of violence the force has faced since 2004.

"I invite again both parties to avoid any useless rhetoric and to face this challenge back to the table of negotiations, which is the only way to solve the situation," Major General Angelo Michele Ristuccia told journalists at KFOR's headquarters in Pristina.

"We need both parties immediately to de-escalate, to find a solution only through politics and through diplomacy," the Italian officer said.

The European Union, which is leading international efforts to normalise relations between Serbia and Kosovo, has called for Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo's premier Albin Kurti to hold crisis talks in Brussels this week.

Vucic has said it would be "useless" to hold such talks, while Kurti said he first wanted Serbia to release three Kosovo policemen it arrested and is holding.

The detention of the police officers injected a dramatic note after weeks of tension between the two sides over disputed elections in Serb-majority northern Kosovo.

Faced with the volatile situation, NATO has beefed up KFOR with 500 more Turkish peacekeepers and vowed its force would be "unwavering" in its mission.

The total KFOR deployment now stands at 4,500 troops -- a significant increase after years of gradually drawing down its force.

"We are fully committed in implementing our mandate, this is for sure," Ristuccia said.

"The fact that NATO sent these reinforcements... testifies our full commitment and how seriously NATO is taking this situation."

- Actors seeking 'chaos' -

The KFOR commander added that there were "those who are interested in creating chaos... but we are here to avoid this".

He stressed that Pristina and Belgrade need to find a way to coexist.

"No one can choose his neighbours but has to find the best solution to live in peace with these neighbours. It is a political issue, a political problem," he said.

The EU had threatened Kosovo with political consequences such as suspending high-level visits and financial cooperation if it does not reverse course on its disputed elections.

Tensions between Kosovo and Serbia have persisted since a war in the late 1990s that drew NATO intervention against Belgrade.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade has refused to recognise it.

Serbs in Kosovo remain largely loyal to Belgrade, especially in the north, where they make up a majority and reject every move by Pristina to consolidate its control over the region.

Serbia has long seen Kosovo as its spiritual and historical homeland, the scene of pivotal battles over the centuries. It continues to host some of the Serbian Orthodox Church's most revered monasteries.