Djuric: Serbian services have clear evidence regarding sabotage on the Ibar-Lepenac canal

Serbia’s Foreign Minister Marko Djuric stated that the country’s security services have clear evidence regarding the sabotage of the Ibar-Lepenac canal, which indicates that the Kosovo police were involved in the incident.

In relation to this, Djuric said he was appalled by the new arrests of Serbs on Easter.

“This resembles a pattern of ethnically motivated persecution we have seen over the past two and a half years, but which has not received sufficient condemnation from the international community. Today, we see calls for the lifting of measures against Pristina, and support for Kurti’s regime. While most in Europe do condemn Kurti, that must be clearly stated. All of us together have failed to stop such behavior. There is no place in Europe’s future for the kind of politics he promotes. What he did with the canal is a story of its own. The fact is that our authorities have solid evidence, otherwise, they would not go public with it. Our investigation did not last half an hour like theirs, but was a months-long analysis which showed the involvement of the Pristina police in these events. I now expect international actors to respond, and that this must result in judicial consequences. Kurti’s aides and associates, or anyone who issued political orders, will have to face the consequences,” the Serbian foreign minister said on Prva TV.

However, he also voiced concern about Pristina’s efforts to gain further international recognition.

“There is a competition in Pristina between the government and the opposition over who can bring in more recognitions. We’ve had some successes, 28 countries have withdrawn their recognition, and only three new recognitions occurred. But those two new ones show that Pristina is working intensively on this, and we will do everything we can to prevent it,” Djuric said.

When asked to comment on the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) Patriarch’s statement that relations with Russia are the warmest possible, particularly in the context of President Aleksandar Vucic’s upcoming visit to Moscow on May 9, which has been criticized by the EU, Djuric said it is important for Serbia to have an energetic, wise, and strong spiritual leader heading the SOC, and that he understands what spiritual diplomacy means.

“I interpret his words through the lens of church diplomacy. Recently in Jerusalem, I had the honor of speaking with the Patriarch of Jerusalem, and I saw how deeply the Serbian Orthodox Church and its over 800-year history are respected. Very few nations in the world have had their own church for more than eight centuries, and the seat of ours remains in Pec, Kosovo and Metohija. Our roots lie in the Patriarchate of Pec,” Djuric said.

Since the Serbian Patriarch visited Kosovo for Easter after previously being denied access to visit his people, Djuric emphasized this was the result of synergy between church and state diplomacy.

“It is deeply regrettable that anyone would block the spiritual leader from visiting the seat of his church. Regarding the criticism of Serbia’s participation in the May 9th parade, I must say Serbia honors freedom-loving traditions and historical memory, this should not be viewed as a provocation. Serbia’s policy is based on the UN Charter. We have shown, even in very difficult circumstances, that we adhere to it and respect internationally recognized territorial integrity. In doing so, we’re also protecting ourselves, especially in regard to Kosovo, against the notion that might makes right,” Djuric emphasized.

He also discussed Serbia’s global diplomatic offensive, saying much effort is being invested.

“On May 2, it will be a year since I became foreign minister. In recent months, we have been conducting an intense diplomatic campaign. We have repeatedly blocked Pristina’s membership in the Council of Europe. Pristina hasn’t met the recommendations of Dora Bakoyannis, such as forming the Community of Serb Municipalities, returning seized land to Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, and complying with the court ruling awarding property to the Decani Monastery. These are preconditions for membership, and we have used that to explain to the international community why it is not right for Pristina to join. We also managed to divert that horrific Srebrenica resolution, gaining the support of 103 countries for Serbia. We extended a hand of cooperation to our neighbors, even when it wasn’t popular. I had meetings with people from Croatia and others in the region,” Djuric explained.

He added that Serbia had built excellent relations with countries in Latin America, Asia, and Africa, while making EU cooperation a national priority.

“There are very few European countries with which we haven’t established diplomatic relations. We haven’t wasted a single day, and won’t in the future. Vucic is one of the few leaders who has spoken with US President Donald Trump. Ursula von der Leyen has visited Serbia, and next month, Antonio Costa and Kaja Kallas will also visit. I have had countless visits, I have been to Moscow and China, and we host international guests weekly, now we have a guest from Congo. We have an intensive program that will continue,” he said.

Regarding the death of Pope Francis, Djuric emphasized that Serbia respects the position of the Holy See on Kosovo and Metohija, where the Vatican supports Serbia.

“The Holy See has great global influence and supports us on many issues. Serbia’s representative at the Vatican, Sima Avramovic, is a legend of Belgrade’s academic community and a man whose knowledge and erudition helped strengthen our position there. Regarding the death of Pope Francis, we express condolences to the Vatican and to our fellow citizens of the Roman Catholic faith,” Djuric concluded.