Petkovic on the attempt to open the Ibar Bridge: Kurti wants to bring northern Kosovo and Metohija into conflict

The Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, commented on the decision of Albanian councilors in the Assembly of North Mitrovica to open the Bridge on Ibar, stating that "the occupation gauleiter Albin Kurti today unequivocally showed that he wants and dreams of war and wants to bring the entire northern Kosovo and Metohija into conflict."

According to the statement of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petkovic stated that Kurti "ordered his councilor Aida Ferati to include on the agenda of the session of the Municipal Assembly in northern Kosovska Mitrovica the opening of the Bridge on Ibar, which divides the northern and southern parts of the city and represents an important security barrier for Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija."

"Kurti's unilateral and illegal move aims to create new tensions and provocations against the peaceful Serbian people in northern Kosovo and Metohija. He uses his illegitimate and false representatives and councilors in northern Kosovo and Metohija for this. Eleven councilors from Pristina voted for this decision, while one abstained and one councilor was against," Petkovic said, according to the statement.

The Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija emphasized that "the opening of the Ibar Bridge is part of the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, not local Kurti's illegitimate occupation gauleiters."

"I immediately informed all international representatives, as well as the mediator in the dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, about Kurti's latest warmongering move, and we expect them to calm and restrain Kurti, who is doing everything to evade the obligation to form the Community of Serb Municipalities and destroy the dialogue in Brussels on May 2. There is no progress or normalization of relations as long as Kurti makes such unilateral moves, trying to bring the whole of northern Kosovo and Metohija into a state of war, and it is up to the West to prevent such moves by Pristina," Petkovic emphasized.