Brnabic: The situation in Kosovo is the most serious so far, Kurti wants to provoke a war

President of the Serbian Assembly, Ana Brnabic, stated that the situation in Kosovo is extremely serious, emphasizing that Kosovo's Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, wants to provoke a war.

Brnabic pointed out that it is in Serbia's interest to maintain peace but also that it cannot allow the mistreatment and endangerment of its people in Kosovo.

"It seems to me that the situation is the most serious so far, because Albin Kurti has no other choice or way out for his policy except to provoke an armed conflict, i.e., a war with Belgrade. And in that sense, it seems to me the most serious so far, because he is the most arrogant and reckless to date, as he is completely cornered, and this is his only way out," Brnabic said in an interview for Euronews Serbia.

Recalling that last week the special envoy of Germany for the Western Balkans, Manuel Sarrazin, mentioned the possibility of CEFTA (Central European Free Trade Agreement) without Kosovo, Brnabic stressed that it is incredible to hear such a statement from Mr. Sarrazin, who has been one of the strongest supporters of Kosovo’s independence and a major proponent of Albin Kurti.

"It has come to that point, and it is now clear to everyone what Albin Kurti is doing," Brnabic said.

She added that Pristina's actions—filing charges against 45 people over the incident in Banjska, the arrest and beating of Serbian youth, the blockade of Serbian institutions—are playing with fire, which could ignite the north of Kosovo.

"This harassment of young men just because they are of Serbian nationality, just because they are Serbs, the confiscation of property, the lack of legal security, the life of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija where they can no longer even receive salaries, and for more than a year they have been unable to purchase goods from central Serbia. All of this leads to what Aleksandar Vucic spoke about at the United Nations Security Council, which is the deliberate creation of impossible living conditions for Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, with Albin Kurti consciously provoking ethnic cleansing, and now it is clear to everyone. At this moment, he solely and exclusively wants to provoke a war," Brnabic said.

Speaking about the visit of the EU’s special envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, Brnabic said that dialogue is far off.

"My opinion is that we are very far from dialogue. And not because of Belgrade. Belgrade has always been ready for dialogue. Belgrade has always been ready for compromises and has been tolerant within the limits of our red lines. As President Vucic has repeated, I think, probably 150 times. But in recent years, since Albin Kurti took office as the so-called prime minister, I have not seen any willingness or desire on Kurti's part to participate in that dialogue. And I think he has been allowed too much leeway in refusing to engage in dialogue and in ignoring everything that had been achieved up until the time he took over the provisional institutions in Pristina," Brnabic said.

She added that every problem is solved through dialogue and conversation, but "this can no longer continue."

According to her, the big problem is that all of this is happening under the watchful eye of the international community, EULEX, and KFOR. She emphasized that it is, however, encouraging that Congresswoman Claudia Tenney, a Republican, sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, asking what the United States will do since the rights of Serbs in Kosovo are being endangered.

"This is a significant matter and, I would say, truly a result of the efforts and all these years of Aleksandar Vucic working to establish a different form of communication with the U.S. government, and of course, also thanks to the current Foreign Minister Marko Djuric, who at that time served as Serbia’s ambassador to the U.S., as we now have a serious and strong caucus group addressing these issues, advocating not just for the interests of Serbia, but for truth and justice," Brnabic stated.