PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — A Kosovo court has sentenced a former ethnic Serb minister to two years in prison for inciting ethnic hatred.

The Pristina court said Thursday that Ivan Todosijevic incited national, racial, religious and ethnic hatred when he denied a massacre of Kosovo civilians in Recak in 1999, which prompted NATO to step in and stop the war, and he called ethnic Albanian independence fighters "terrorists."

Todosijevic was fired by outgoing Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj after the comments in March.

NATO's 78-day bombing campaign ended the 1998-99 crackdown by Slobodan Milosevic on ethnic Albanian independence fighters in Kosovo, which was a province of Serbia at the time. Kosovo's independence in 2008 isn’t recognized by Serbia.

Todosijevic hasn’t accepted the charges and may appeal the verdict.