Petkovic: During the meeting with Lajcak, Vucic emphasized the difficult position of the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija

Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, stated today that the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, had emphasized the main problems concerning the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina during the meeting with the Special Envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, stressing that Pristina refused to continue talks in that direction and introduced new unilateral measures daily, undermining the dialogue.

Petkovic emphasized that the meeting with Lajcak had lasted over an hour.

Vucic, he said, clearly emphasized the very difficult position of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija and the necessity for Pristina to cease escalatory moves endangering lives.

"He emphasized the necessity of forming the CSM, which has been awaited for 10 years, and for Pristina to stop obstructing through the agreement on the draft statute. Pristina refuses to continue talks in that direction and introduces new unilateral measures daily, undermining the dialogue," Petkovic pointed out.

Petkovic also noted that during the discussions with Lajcak, the President had emphasized the importance of the petition signed for the dismissal of mayors in four municipalities, stating that Serbs had collected enough signatures.

He emphasized that it was now Kurti's turn to act according to "his administrative instructions" and to organize elections, after which, due to the high turnout of Serbs, Serbian mayors would be elected.

According to the director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Vucic also insisted that Kurti must stop unilateral actions, the latest being the ban on the use of the dinar.

"Belgrade is ready to discuss the normalization process; our policy dictates that we must build peace and preserve stability primarily in Kosovo and thus in the region. We will fight democratically to preserve our people, to do everything to make the normalization process meaningful because normalization implies normalcy for the everyday life of Serbs in Kosovo, which is necessary for them to survive and remain in their homes," Petkovic said.

He emphasized that that was why it was necessary to form the Community of Serb Municipalities, which would preserve the individual and collective rights of Serbs, which were currently constantly violated.

"We are the responsible party, we seek to fulfill our obligations, but it is also necessary for the other party to do so. Instead of moving towards de-escalation of relations, and despite what the EU has requested, everything we do does not lead to effects that lead to normalization. We see that instead of positively responding to our extended hand, Pristina, through negative, unlawful, and violent actions, attempts to undermine dialogue and question the survival of our people in Kosovo and Metohija," he said, adding:

"Belgrade will do everything for the Serbian people, to secure a better position for them, but also for peace to reign in the Serbian southern province," Petkovic said.