Drecun: The pressure on Kurti is weakening, not even the first steps have been taken to form the CSM

Milovan Drecun, President of the Committee for Kosovo and Metohija in the Serbian Assembly, has assessed that the current focus of the EU and the US on organizing high-level meetings in Brussels was wrong, according to his opinion, as attention should be directed toward de-escalating the situation in northern Kosovo.

Commenting on the visit of the EU Special Envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, to Belgrade, Drecun stated for RTS that he did not see what outcome a high-level meeting could bring, and he added that attention should be directed toward addressing the reasons that had led to the current situation, specifically, addressing the factors that had caused the departure of Serbs from institutions.

"The pressure on Albin Kurti is diminishing; he's playing the game of de-escalation, creating an illusion. There are no signs that the police will withdraw from the north; there has only been a superficial reduction in the intensity of the terror against Serbs, such as arrests, but they still happen. No first steps have been taken for the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities, and until that is resolved, I believe organizing high-level meetings is meaningless," Drecun said.

He further adds that it appears their intention is to show that something is being done and that they are "praying to God" that they will reach an agreement on something during the meeting, but that there are no real solutions.

Drecun stresses that he cannot find any rational reason to believe that Kurti is ready to reach a political agreement and restore the situation prior to this crisis in the north, that is, before the Serbs withdrew from institutions.

"He continues to take unilateral steps; you saw the attempt to remove Serbian institutions from the building in North Mitrovica. The Municipality of North Mitrovica was admitted to the Association of Kosovo Municipalities, and immediately comments started that the CSM was unnecessary. Kurti has his goals, and he's implementing them step by step. Instead of pressuring him with significantly stronger pressure, we're seeing a shift of focus on both sides," Drecun conveyed.

As he reminds, French President Emmanuel Macron also warned both Belgrade and Pristina.

Drecun adds that the focus then shifts to pressuring Belgrade to accept what was said to be unacceptable.

"We've said that we won't accept or implement two points from the Franco-German proposal, namely establishing relations with Kosovo based on principles of territorial integrity and sovereignty, which is de facto recognition, and enabling them to become members of international organizations," he emphasized.

As he says, he is concerned about Kurti's apparent preparations to conclude the occupation of northern Kosovo by preparing Kosovo's army.

"When you put together the moves taken by Pristina, when you see the moves of the US and NATO, and the announced meeting of Vjosa Osmani with Stoltenberg, the question arises as to why these accelerated preparations to complete the formation of Kosovo's army before the agreed deadline, which expires in 2029, if combat use of this formation isn't being prepared," Drecun said.

He points out that a recent agreement between the US and Kosovo on the security protection of confidential information has been signed, and US Ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, stated that this agreement would contribute to exchanging intelligence data that would secure Kosovo's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Drecun notes that such agreements are signed to exchange information during crises, which can be seen in the example of the war in Ukraine.

Additionally, he says that instead of introducing regular military service in Kosovo, scheduled for 2028, there is arming and training of young men, and that there is also a statement by new Defense Minister Maqedonci, which is causing the greatest concern.

According to Drecun, Maqedonci stated that the obligation for the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) to enter the north with KFOR's permission would be lifted, and he didn't say this out of his own desire but because he has an agreement with one of the countries—the US, Germany, Turkey...

Drecun also points out that the new KFOR commander is a Turkish general, that the Turkish contingent in KFOR is the strongest, and that the contingents of Albania, the UK, and Germany have doubled.

"We're faced with a situation of arming, which all points to the fact that military actions are being prepared in northern Kosovo, and then we have a crucial matter—the deployment of units in the north, which constitutes a partial occupation of the north. Kurti's goal is to fully occupy northern Kosovo, that is, to militarily seize it, and he needs additional forces for that. This is Kosovo's army in the making, the current KSF. To achieve this, he has declared two organizations as terrorist organizations so that he can justify the need for an army to deal with terrorists," Drecun narrated.

He stresses that if such preparations are being made, and he believes they are, it means they plan to fully occupy northern Kosovo with all the police and military capacities at their disposal.

"Kurti is trying to buy time to complete a situation that could be extremely dangerous for Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija," Drecun concluded.