Djuric: No Dialogue with Pristina while Serbian officials are being arrested, consequences will be severe

Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs Marko Djuric issued a statement regarding the arrest of Igor Popovic, Assistant Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, stressing that Serbia demands his immediate release and warning the international community about the seriousness of the situation.

“We demand the immediate release of Assistant Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Igor Popovic from the Pristina dungeon and warn the international community to recognize the seriousness and danger of such actions by Priština,” Djuric stated.

He described the behavior of the Pristina authorities as “barbaric,” saying it is destabilizing the situation in Kosovo and the region.

“Serbia cannot tolerate such barbaric behavior by Kurti and the provisional authorities in Priština against officials of the Republic of Serbia, which is dangerously destabilizing the situation on the ground and in the region, and eliminating any possibility of sustainable normalization in Kosovo and Metohija,” he said.

He added that the situation is unacceptable and will have very serious consequences for relations between Belgrade and Pristina. He emphasized that there can be no dialogue with Pristina while arrests and pressure on Serbian officials and the Serbian people continue.

Djuric called on international actors to react before it is too late.

“We call on the international community to finally put an end to the rampage of Albin Kurti, while there is still hope for any semblance of stability. All responsibility for the consequences of such irresponsible behavior lies with the regime of Albin Kurti,” the Serbian Foreign Minister concluded.

The last time news of the arrest of a Serbian government official was reported was in March 2018.

At that time, the Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija and Belgrade’s chief negotiator, Marko Djuric, was arrested in North Mitrovica, taken to Pristina, and subsequently expelled from Kosovo.