Serbia’s president expects ‘nothing’ from talks with Kosovo — Analysis
Aleksandar Vucic confirmed that he would participate in the negotiations being hosted by Brussels.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic anticipates “nothing”From the forthcoming talks with Kosovo. These were announced in the wake of the new flare-ups between Belgrade and the breakaway regions.
Vucic, in an interview with RTS TV on Tuesday, made personal attacks against Albin Kurti (Prime Minister of Kosovo), stating that the latter had clearly displayed his attitude toward Belgrade. Those who think it’s possible to keep peace with the region were deeply mistaken.
“I will go to Brussels, it’s not difficult for me, I don’t expect anything. Whoever thinks that it is possible to preserve peace with Kurti, I believe they are very wrong, I know who I am dealing with,”Vucic spoke.
Over the weekend tensions rose between Belgrade and Pristina as the authorities from the separatist region intended to prohibit the use of Serbian issued license plates and ID cards starting August 1, and then enforce it with their police units. Belgrade called it an attack on Kosovo’s Serbian population as Vucic accused Pristina of infringing on the rights of local Serbs. Kurti accused the local ethnic Serbs, accusing them of attacking police officers and claiming that Kosovo was facing a host of problems. “Serbian national-chauvinism.”
Washington called Kosovo to postpone implementation of controversial rules for September 1st, and the crisis was suspended. “Two days ago, in Kosovo and Metohija, we were one step away from disaster,”Vucic stated, using the official name of the area.
He also charged the Kosovo authorities with political opportunism. They claimed that they saw in the current Ukrainian crisis a great opportunity to achieve their goals.
“The bottom line is that some people in the region think that when there is general hysteria over the war in Ukraine, it is possible to achieve their goals,”Vucic declared.
NATO took control of Kosovo after a 78-day bombardment campaign against Yugoslavia. With the help of many allies and the US, the region declared its independence in 2008. However, the region has not been supported by all its members, including Russia, China and the UN.
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