Djuric: In the US, more and more officials realize that it is necessary to sanction those who violate the human rights of the Serbs in Kosovo

The Ambassador of Serbia to the United States of America, Marko Djuric, said that the number of officials in the United States who understood that the Serbs could not look at Albin Kurti and the Pristina authorities as partners for solving the problem was growing because, as he said, they were the source of the problems that had brought the Serbs in Kosovo into an unbearable position in the previous year and a half.

"Every day, we inform US officials at different levels about the problems faced by the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, and it is a matter of massive violation of human rights. The position of the Serbs is that of second-class citizens. The Serbs cannot look at Kurti and the others in power in Pristina as a partner because they are the source of the problems that brought the Serbs into an unbearable position a year and a half ago," Djuric told RTS.

According to him, the number of people in the US who understand this is growing.

Djuric says that they are trying to talk to people in America about the mechanisms of sanctions because their sanctions make it possible to "punish those who violate human rights".

"When it comes to Kosovo and Metohija, it is necessary to sanction the people who are responsible for the violation of civil rights, who are in the institutions, at the top, and even at the negotiating table," he said.

Djuric points out that when talking about America, they are talking about the country that was among the first to recognize the independence of Kosovo and that there is no dilemma when discussing the status.

But, as he adds, the US is a partner when it comes to stability and peace because they do not want tensions and instability to arise in another place in Europe, specifically in our region.

In this sense, as he says, he is trying to use the important steps taken in the cooperation between Serbia and the US for those matters on which the two countries do not agree, namely status.

"And we have made some progress on that front," Djuric said and pointed out that today it could be heard that Murphy asked to change the Kosovo legal framework in order to form the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities.

Gabriel Escobar himself, as Djuric recalls, said that the CSM would be formed whether Kurti wanted it or not, as well as that the Special Forces would withdraw.

Stating that he expects the US to be a quality partner in the protection of human rights, Djuric says Belgrade is looking for a return to the previous state, that is, to the state before the illegal police formations were deployed in the north, as well as to stop the terror and persecution of our people.

"Regarding that, we have support. For now, it is important to point out that letting them slide, has encouraged some extremists from the Pristina side to take unilateral actions," he said.

When asked what he expected from today's talks in Brussels, Djuric also states that "the deeper causes of the problem lie in the fact that the problem was treated at an intermediate level when it comes to the political level of the actors".

"Now we have the attention of the highest level of politicians in Washington and the EU and I expect that it will result in engagement that should go in the direction of pressures that will stop Kurti's destructive behavior. We went through the phase of calling, talking to him, but it did not result, now those who violate rights on the ground must be sanctioned human," he said.

He points out that this is necessary in order to return to dialogue.

As he says, this implies that we agree on disagreements about status.

"So that we cannot go in the direction of persecuting people, we need sanctions for persecution and terror," Djuric said.