Djuric at the Security Council: The situation in Kosovo is deteriorating, and the Serbs are paying the price         

Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric pointed out tonight that the situation on the ground in Kosovo is deteriorating and that the Serbs are paying the price.

Speaking at the UN Security Council session on Kosovo, Djuric stated that Albin Kurti’s regime must be stopped in its self-proclaimed mission that "Serbs must suffer and pay." He also emphasized that international principles must be respected equally and consistently, and that dialogue remains the only sustainable path forward, but it must be based on trust.

Djuric thanked UN Secretary-General António Guterres, as well as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNMIK, Caroline Ziadeh, for their ongoing efforts in implementing the mandate entrusted to UNMIK by UN Security Council Resolution 1244.

“Serbia’s position remains clear and consistent: we strongly support the continued presence and full engagement of UNMIK. After more than 25 years, the mission’s mandate has not yet been fulfilled, and the challenges on the ground are growing more complex day by day. UNMIK’s role is not only relevant—it is indispensable,” Djuric stressed.

The Minister emphasized that international principles must be respected equally and consistently.

“In the year in which we mark the 80th anniversary of the founding of this largest world organization and the adoption of its most important document - the Charter of the United Nations, I believe that we must all ask ourselves whether we are today closer or further from the goals we have jointly set. We often have the opportunity to hear statements in this very building about the need and importance of full respect for the UN Charter, and in particular for the principles that guarantee the protection of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of internationally recognized states. I am proud to be the representative of a state that is consistently committed to the respect for the UN Charter and its fundamental principles, including the necessity of respecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of both its own and all other UN member states. It is therefore natural to expect that these rules apply to all member states and that they are applied in equal manner, including the Republic of Serbia,” Djuric said.

He expressed confidence that everyone is aware of the consequences of the precedent set in 2008 with the unilateral declaration of Kosovo’s independence.

“We warned in time that once international law principles are violated, it becomes a question of how to escape from this 'vicious circle.' Any country could end up with its own 'Kosovo.' And indeed, since 2008, we have seen an increasing number of situations where the status of various regions, provinces, and territories of sovereign UN member states has been called into question. Following the Kosovo precedent, this very Security Council has been overwhelmed with addressing the consequences of that precedent,” the Serbian Foreign Minister pointed out.

Djuric particularly emphasized that the situation on the ground in Kosovo is deteriorating and that Serbs are paying the price, illustrating this with a few examples from a series of incidents, which he described as a disturbing and dangerous pattern, reflected in Albin Kurti’s words that “Serbs must suffer and pay.”

He listed that in recent months, Pristina escalated a campaign of systematically dismantling Serbian institutions across Kosovo — actions that are not just symbolic but have direct, painful daily consequences for people. Salaries, pensions, and social assistance for thousands of Serbian families have been cut off, endangering the basic means of survival for many Serbs.

“This year, on January 15, we witnessed coordinated efforts by Pristina to close Serbian institutions in Kosovo Polje, Gracanica, Lipljan, Velika Hoca, Orahovac, and other enclaves south of the Ibar River. This was not only a political provocation - it was a calculated attempt to erase the collective identity of Serbs in these communities. It is hard to imagine that anyone could consider such actions conducive to dialogue or reconciliation. Just a few weeks later, on February 21, social welfare centers in four northern Serb-majority municipalities were forcibly closed, leaving over 1,500 vulnerable individuals without access to essential services. In such circumstances, how can we seriously speak of normalization or trust-building?” Djuric asked.

The examples he cited, he added, bring us back to the question that has been raised for 12 years — when will the Community of Serbian Municipalities be established.

“The answer, as clearly demonstrated by Kurti’s actions, is that there is no political will in Pristina to fulfill this legally binding obligation. Instead, we see an ethno-nationalist strategy built to instill fear, intimidate, and exclude. What we are witnessing is not accidental — it is the direct fulfillment of Albin Kurti’s own promise. In September 2023, he declared that 'Serbs must suffer and pay.' Those words are not mere rhetoric. They have become policy. And their consequences are unfolding before our very eyes,” Djuric warned.

   He stated that the same strategy was at the core of Kurti’s election campaign ahead of the elections held on February 9, given that the conditions for the participation of Serbs were anything but free or fair.

It would be difficult, he said, to describe those elections as free and fair in any sense.

He reminded that more than a month after the elections in Kosovo, official results had still not been published, allegedly due to a software error, only for one parliamentary seat — which rightfully belonged to a Serbian representative — to be practically taken away.

“This was done through the orchestrated participation of ethnic Albanians voting for the candidate selected by Kurti, allowing that candidate to win not through the support of the Serbian community, as prescribed by the Constitution, but mainly through Albanian votes. To make the paradox even clearer — in previous years, when similar cases occurred, where Serbs allegedly voted for candidates from other communities, such elections were quickly annulled. Such manipulation of the voting system and practices undermines not only the democratic integrity but also trust in the institutions that are supposed to guarantee fairness and representation for all communities. We have already seen this same pattern clearly reflected in the blatant violation of Article 96, paragraph 5, of the so-called 'Constitution of Kosovo.' By appointing representatives in the previous so-called Government of Kosovo without legitimate electoral support from the Serbian community, the very spirit of Article 96, paragraph 5, was clearly violated. This provision was not intended to merely fulfill ethnic quotas on paper but was meant to guarantee genuine political participation of minority communities in Pristina’s institutions. The law was clear, but it was cast aside for political gain," Djuric stated.

The Minister also said that Kurti’s regime recently launched a wide campaign of persecution against prominent Serbs in Kosovo for their participation in the protests at the end of 2022, despite written guarantees given by the European Union and the United States in December 2022, assuring that no Serb would be arrested or prosecuted for taking part in those demonstrations.

Contrary to those guarantees, Djuric noted, 37 Serbs have been arbitrarily detained under these accusations.

"We are witnessing yet another clear indicator that Kurti is determined to carry out his statement that 'the Serbs must suffer and pay,’" the minister emphasized.

He also listed that since Kurti came to power, 20 percent of the remaining Serbs have left Kosovo, while the number of attacks on Serbs has increased by more than 50 percent. He pointed out that more than 200,000 Serbs have been displaced since 1999, and less than two percent have managed to return.

"This is not just statistics. It is a grave condemnation of the reality on the ground — a reality that is far too often met with deafening silence," Djuric stated.

He recalled that since the establishment of international presence in Kosovo, 9,530 ethnically motivated incidents have been recorded, and that during the reporting period alone, there were 63 such incidents, with members of the Kosovo Police directly involved in 25 cases.

"In four of those cases, children were attacked. Thirteen young people were detained and subjected to physical violence. What message are we sending to future generations? What kind of future are we shaping? In the home of Milica Mihajlović, a single mother from Zvecan, a raid was conducted, and her son was threatened with death by those who are supposed to uphold the law. Is this the new reality being imposed on Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija? Because as we see it, this is not coexistence. This is repression," Djuric said clearly.

He stated that for Serbs, Kosovo is not just 13 percent of the territory.

"It is the very heart of who we are. It is the home of our holiest monasteries, the seat of our Church, and the foundation of our identity. It is unacceptable that the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church is denied the right to visit the Patriarchate of Pec in 21st-century Europe, despite the presence of thousands of international representatives. Is this the image of a modern, multiethnic democracy that Pristina wants the world to believe in? Or is this a carefully staged illusion? What Kurti is doing to the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija is not an act of caring for citizens. It is targeted, deliberate, and systematic ethnic revenge," Minister Djuric emphasized.

He also stressed that dialogue remains the only sustainable way forward, but it must be based on trust.

"The picture I have presented to you today is grim. Under such circumstances, it is difficult to speak of building trust, which, as you will agree, is the prerequisite for any dialogue, including the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. We believe that at this moment, new strength and energy are needed to revive the dialogue, which has long been stagnating without real progress or results. In this sense, the new European Union Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue faces no easy task, but he has our full support to do everything in his power under these difficult circumstances to establish the necessary trust among all parties in the process," Djuric said.

He believes that the best way to "revive" the dialogue is through building the much-needed trust via economic cooperation and infrastructural connectivity, alongside parallel efforts to implement all previously undertaken obligations.

He also noted that the role of the European Union, the United States, and other partners will be crucial in the upcoming period, which is why he called for stronger engagement to enable the continuation of dialogue and the search for a compromise.

Serbia, as before, will strive to be a constructive and credible partner in the dialogue, and European Union Special Representative Peter Sorensen can count on Belgrade’s full cooperation, Djuric emphasized.

"All that I have spoken about today must serve as an 'alarm' for the international community. Kurti’s regime must be stopped in its self-proclaimed mission that 'Serbs must suffer and pay'," said the Serbian Foreign Minister.

He appealed to the Security Council to react seriously in order to prevent irreparable damage to the survival of Serbs in the territory of Kosovo, as well as the destabilization of the entire region.

"I assure you that the Republic of Serbia remains clearly committed to building peace and stability, both in Kosovo and Metohija and in the entire region. Despite what some may think and how they choose to act, I am convinced that there is no alternative to dialogue and I hope that you share my view. Serbia will always be on the side of dialogue. However, we must not forget that the “DI” in dialogue stands for participation of two sides," concluded Minister Djuric.