Pristina, Kosovo - Kosovo police on Monday took over the protection of Serbian shrines from the NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo known as KFOR.
The Gracanica monastery, on the outskirts of Pristina, is the first property handed over to Kosovo police.
"The handover at Gracanica is a major step in the process to increasingly strengthen the responsibility of the security institutions in Kosovo, as they will be guarding one of the most valuable cultural and religious sites in Kosovo", KFOR said.
"This action reflects the improved security situation in Kosovo and the confidence that KFOR has in the capability of the Kosovo police to perform this important task", the KFOR statement said.
The timeline for takeover of three other Serbian monasteries - Budisavci, Gorioc and Zociste - has still not been determined.
The move to hand over the protection of Serbian shrines to mostly Albanian police drew protests from Serbia. Officials called it "unacceptable," and Serbian Orthodox Church described it as "a premature decision."
Kosovo, a former Serbian province with a 90-per-cent Albanian population, declared independence in 2008. It has been recognized by the United States and most of the European Union, but Belgrade bitterly opposes independence.
KFOR was deployed in 1999 after NATO's bombing of Serbia and ousting of Serb forces from the province.
Hostility between minority Serbs and Albanians still persists. In 2004, Albanians torched dozens of Serbs shrines and hundreds of their homes.