Petkovic: The CSM will never be a non-governmental organization; it is a guarantee for the preservation of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija

Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, emphasized that the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities represented the only mechanism for the survival and presence of the Serbs in Kosovo and that Pristina's refusal to fulfill its obligation from the dialogue for a full ten years had directly enabled Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti to carry out terror, persecution, and escalatory actions against the Serbs.

Petkovic pointed out that the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities would never be a non-governmental organization that representatives of certain Western representations in Pristina would like to place within its framework.

"The CSM is the most concrete framework and guarantee for preserving collective and individual rights, as well as negotiated executive powers for the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija in the most important social, economic, political, cultural, developmental, economic, and security issues", Petkovic emphasized.

He highlighted that all agreements on the Statute of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities and the established competencies of the Serbs in Kosovo, according to the agreements from 2013 and 2015, must be in line with the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, the Charter of the United Nations, and UN Security Council Resolution 1244.

"This is precisely what President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic has clearly and unequivocally stated to the face of international officials, including the last meeting in Brussels with European leaders! For us, the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia is sacred, and UN Security Council Resolution 1244 is still in force in Kosovo and Metohija. No press conferences or references to the so-called Kosovo Constitutional Court, which has no credibility outside of certain cabinets or foreign embassies, can suspend or annul it", Petkovic stated in the press release.

As he emphasized, the CSM, with concrete and clearly defined competencies for the Serbs, was negotiated over ten years ago in Brussels. One statement or someone's wish list cannot nullify what the entire European Union guaranteed and to which representatives of Belgrade and Pristina put their signatures.

"Those who do not want to respect agreements, as well as international law, should not think of unilaterally suspending all valid agreements from Brussels in 2013 and 2015, clearly defining the competencies of the CSM. They should not think of canceling all the achievements of the dialogue so far. Unfortunately, we witness that force disregards international law, but we will never give up on facts and principles", Petkovic stated.

He concluded that one thing should be clear to everyone, and that was that Vucic had never reacted to pressure, no matter from which side it came or how forceful it was.

"And he will continue to strongly advocate for the interests of the Serbs and for peace in Kosovo and Metohija", Petkovic conveyed.