Dacic: Possible changes in Serbia's position towards the international community on the Kosovo and Metohija issue

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ivica Dacic, said today that there would be certain changes in Serbia's position when it came to relations with representatives of the international community in Kosovo, as well as that President Aleksandar Vucic was seriously considering what further steps should be taken regarding the situation in Kosovo, RTV reports.

"There will be certain changes in our position in the situation when it comes to relations with the representatives of the international community in Kosovo. We do not have a problem with KFOR doing its part of the job properly, but we are witnessing that this is not the case," Dacic told Prva TV speaking about current events in Kosovo.

The prime minister said yesterday that Serbia was close to deciding to request that 1,000 of our soldiers return to Kosovo under the UN Resolution 1244, and Dacic says that her announcements yesterday mean that President Vucic is seriously considering what further steps should be taken regarding the situation in Kosovo. 

Dacic said that Vucic would inform the state leadership at meetings during the day, before the announced address to the public at 7 p.m.

Speaking about the possibility of returning Serbian forces to Kosovo, Dacic said that the UN Resolution 1244 did not define what personnel were.

"That part was never worked out and it was never implemented. There is no doubt that the Serbian authorities did not often refer to that part of the UN Resolution 1244, and they did not officially ask for the return," he said.

Dacic assessed that the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, was constantly setting fires, which the representatives of the international community tolerated.

"Will international representatives arrive to put out those fires or will they turn into one great fire in the entire region?" Dacic asked.

He pointed out that the central issue was the attitude of the international actors towards what Kurti was doing to the Serbs.

"Do they condemn it or tolerate it? Is the relationship correct and fair, or is it being concealed that Kurti, if he can, will also occupy the north of Kosovo," Dacic said.

The head of the diplomacy said that the advisor to the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, as well as the ministers of state for Europe of France, and Great Britain, would come to Belgrade next week.

"The question is whether they consider what Pristina is doing as their legitimate right, or whether they will prevent Kurti’s doings in accordance with the Brussels agreement," Dacic said.

Speaking about the eventual sending of Serbian security forces to Kosovo without obtaining consent, Dacic pointed out that this required a lot of thinking and that it would mean entering into a war.

He reminded that the red lines for Serbia were that it did not want new negotiations on the Brussels Agreement and the CSM, nor Kosovo in the UN, as well as the physical security of the Serbs in Kosovo.

"If no one can guarantee that they can protect the safety of the Serbs, I remind you that President Vucic said that he would not allow a repetition of the pogrom," Dacic said.

He added that it was important to exhaust all the positions that meant that Serbia had made maximum efforts to preserve peace.

"We demand respect of the UN resolution 1244, the Brussels Agreement; the continuation of the dialogue and a peaceful solution of the problems, and no mistreatment of citizens. This should be ensured by international forces. If they cannot ensure this, and the attack on the Serbs begins, it will be a situation in which Serbia will not have a choice," Dacic said.

He said that it was time for the attitude of the international community to change.

"As long as Kurti is there, there will be no diplomacy, nor any plan of France and Germany or other plans. Kurti can talk and lie, but he will never accept the plan because it does not state that Serbia should recognize Kosovo," Dacic said.