When Serb gunmen killed a police officer in Kosovo in late September, authorities sought help in their investigation from Bosnia and Herzegovina, a country that does not yet recognise Kosovo as independent.

Prosecutors in Serbia say the gunmen, three of whom were shot dead by police in the subsequent clash, obtained their substantial arsenal from Bosnia.

Bosnia rejected this, but Kosovo nevertheless turned to Sarajevo for assistance, submitting a request for “mutual legal assistance” via the European Union Office in Pristina. The Office told BIRN the request had been forwarded to Sarajevo. Bosnia’s public prosecution confirmed receipt of the request and said that it would investigate, without specifying whether any information it turns up would be sent to Kosovo.

The case is another example of how the two states can cooperate even in the absence of formal recognition of one by the other.