Dacic: Pristina is buying time hoping Belgrade will give in to Western pressure

Ivica Dacic, the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Government of the Republic of Serbia, emphasized that Pristina was buying time regarding the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities, hoping that Serbia would give in under the pressure of certain Western countries and renounce Kosovo, Blic reports.

Dacic stated that Serbia would continue with an organized campaign for Kosovo's derecognition. As he highlights, countries that withdrew their recognition realized that they could face a similar situation.

He added that the basic element of Kosovo's policy was not to respect any agreements, and their sole aim was for Serbia to recognize their independence.

"We are certain that Pristina is lying and has no intention to establish the CSM; they are merely buying time for themselves. They want all Serbs to obtain personal IDs and passports there so that the 'Republic of Kosovo' could be written on them. When someone lacks something, they wish to emphasize it further," Dacic said.

He notes that Pristina hopes Serbia will yield to pressure, which, according to him, will not happen.

"They are buying time not to implement what they signed, hoping that the situation is in their favor and that Serbia will eventually have to recognize Kosovo. Probably some other countries are encouraging them, saying they will pressure Serbia and that Serbia won't be able to join the European Union without some kind of de facto recognition, as they like to say. However, this term is not used anywhere, neither in any international document nor in EU documents. Five EU member states do not recognize Kosovo. They hope that Serbia will still give up on its policy; these are empty expectations," Dacic stated.

He also emphasizes that the credibility of the international community is close to zero, and everyone knows that Serbia will not progress further until what was agreed upon in the Brussels Agreement is fulfilled.

As Dacic stated, Pristina does not want to de-escalate conflicts, and it is difficult to discuss the boycotting or non-boycotting of the census of Serbs in Kosovo since any outcome can be negatively represented.

"This raises the question of how realistic and accurate this census is. I will only remind you that more than 200,000 Serbs have been expelled from Kosovo and Metohija since 1999, and only 1.9% have returned. It is very difficult to decide to participate under such conditions. If you do not participate, they will say you do not exist, but if you participate, you may give them legitimacy to confirm things with some figures," Dacic said.

According to him, the year 2030 as the deadline for EU enlargement is questionable.

"The term used is by 2030. However, no EU body has made that decision. They have all skipped over it but have started saying that it is Charles Michel's personal stance. Our path to the EU will be challenging, not because of the reforms that help our society improve. The question here is what is also important to us, and that is the dialogue with Pristina. Unfortunately, the speed of EU accession is measured by the success of the dialogue with Pristina," Dacic stressed.

As he said, Serbia is in a difficult position.

"We must strive to pass through it with minimal damage. It is very difficult to take a position where everyone is satisfied at this moment. We condemn terrorism, but we cannot say we do not empathize with the victims. Ukraine and Russia are close countries to us. Palestine and Israel as well. I will remind you that Palestine has not recognized the so-called Kosovo. All these crises are a great burden on our interests. We are trying to get through this with the least consequences for our country," Dacic concluded.