Jevtic: The incident on the waterway benefits Kurti, I'm increasingly convinced it was preplanned

The Mayor of Strpce, Dalibor Jevtic, assessed that the situation in northern Kosovo remains tense following the explosion on the Ibar-Lepenac waterway, emphasizing that he is increasingly convinced the incident was preplanned.

"The situation remains tense. To be honest, we’ve been living under such circumstances for a long time, especially since Kurti came to power and started implementing repressive policies to force Serbs to leave Kosovo. Considering everything that happened in Zubin Potok and Gracanica, every incident in northern Kosovo indirectly affects every Serb south of the Ibar. Kurti knew that such a situation would help him achieve certain political goals. In this context, as the February 9 elections approach, we can expect continuous incidents," Jevtic said on Newsmax Balkans television.

When pointed out that Kosovo authorities blamed Serbia for everything, Jevtic stated that observing what happens after the incident makes him increasingly convinced it was preplanned.

"What Kurti and other members of the government in Pristina are doing is creating situations to accuse Belgrade and Serbia of something Kurti wants to frame in the context of the war in Ukraine and label the Serbian people and the Serbian List as a terrorist organization. The way Gërvalla spoke about it yesterday suggests this was prearranged. How is it possible that just hours after the incident, they accused the Serbian List and Serbs without evidence? There’s no reason why Serbs would do such a thing—none. Serbs lose their water supply, and this situation only benefits Kurti. You saw special units on the streets yesterday, people being arrested without evidence, parading in uniforms... The entire plan was devised by Albin Kurti to create a political crisis," Jevtic emphasized.

He believes it is good that Serbia is conducting its investigation.

"We must not leave anything to chance. Vucic explained it well, and I’m confident we’ll soon learn the truth about who is behind this sabotage. We need an independent international investigation because of the narrative Kurti wants to promote internationally. We must prevent Kurti from achieving his goals. If the truth isn’t uncovered now, this won’t be the last incident Kurti orchestrates to boost his ratings," the Mayor of Strpce stressed.

When asked how Serbia could investigate the incident without institutions in the north, Jevtic said it is possible.

"We don’t have institutions in the north, but certain findings can still be obtained. The state of Serbia has an obligation to conduct its investigation through the prosecutor's office," he said.

Asked about the situation for people living in Kosovo, Jevtic added that one of the goals of this incident was for Pristina to accuse Serbia.

"This means that now, when someone lacks electricity in Pristina, Srbica, or areas with a majority Albanian population, people blame the Serbs. This fosters a negative attitude toward Serbs, which is exactly what Kurti wants to achieve. Electricity is available; in the municipality of Strpce, we only had a brief outage due to weather conditions. There could be challenges in ensuring sufficient power supply this winter because Obilic A and B thermal power plants face issues every year. I fear this event will be used to claim that Kosovo lacks electricity not because of incompetence but supposedly because Serbs are to blame," Jevtic explained.

Regarding today’s meeting of High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas in Brussels with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and later with Kurti, Jevtic said the meetings will be separate.

"The dialogue is currently clinically dead; it doesn’t exist. Meetings at the technical level are merely held to keep the dialogue alive in some form. From today’s meeting, I expect President Vucic to clearly present the reality of what happened in Zubin Potok to his counterparts in Brussels and to highlight the difficult position of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija to all EU members. From Pristina, I expect nothing but lies and attempts to fabricate a narrative that the events in Zubin Potok were orchestrated by Serbs or Russians. This will simply be a misuse of those meetings," Jevtic said.

When asked if Kurti would allow an international investigation, Jevtic emphasized that it is evident Kurti lacks answers to many questions.

"This speaks volumes about Kurti’s position. He would prefer to avoid an international investigation. It’s been stated that representatives of the international community will support Pristina’s investigation, but that’s the wrong approach. We need an international investigation to uncover the truth," Jevtic concluded.