Petkovic: The heated political situation in Pristina is an indication of how much Serbia is fighting for Kosovo and Metohija

Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, pointed out that the heated political situation in Pristina was the best indicator of how much Serbia had fought in Ohrid.

In a guest appearance on TV Happy, he stated that pressure had been exerted on Pristina to form what it had been refusing for years.

"In Pristina, they cannot come to terms with the fact that the CSM will be formed. When you see how violently they are behaving in Pristina, it is all an indication that we are on the right track when it comes to our relationship with Kosovo, in order to preserve our people," Petkovic said.

He added that it took political skill, ability, and courage to say what was not acceptable to the Serbs, and on the other hand to stay on the European path.

"We need to be wise and protect our national interests. When you manage to agree on the CSM with all the powers and do not violate the Constitution of Serbia, it takes skill and courage to say, “These are our red lines”. We took care of every word in the European proposal; Vucic clearly said that we were a sovereign state and that we would neither de facto nor de jure recognize the independence of Kosovo and Metohija and we would not accept membership in the UN," Petkovic assessed.

He added that the opposition in Serbia was doing the same as the opposition in Pristina.

"They said that the CSM did not mean anything, ask our people in Kosovo what the CSM means to them. The very fact that in Pristina they are reacting like this shows the importance of the CSM. The opposition does not have any politics, they only know how to attack President Vucic. The way Vucic fought in Ohrid, no one could do that. It's about their lack of responsibility. When they saw that nothing was signed, they said that the signature was not important. Of course, it is important, that's why we didn't agree to sign anything," Petkovic said.

He emphasized that there were things from 2011 that Serbia had to and wanted to implement.

"Overnight, Tadic replaced the parliamentary resolution with the EU text and thus moved the defense of Kosovo and Metohija from the UN to the EU area, where the majority at that time recognized independence. We tried to get the best out of those agreements, even though they were bad. They recognized the license plates and everything else, that's why our people in Kosovo and Metohija have problems now," Petkovic emphasized.

He pointed out that Vucic had managed to withdraw recognition from 27 countries with his policies.

"We are investing much more in Kosovo and Metohija than was previously invested. The increase in the temporary monetary compensation speaks for that," Petkovic said.

He added that the Serbs had clearly said that they would return to the Kosovo institutions when the CSM was formed.

"For ten years, the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija have been waiting for the formation of the CSM, because it is a mechanism that ensures the rights of the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija. Since the arrival of Albin Kurti, 306 attacks on the Serbs have been recorded, not to mention the institutional violence of arrests, while Kurtaj, who shot Serbian children released under house arrest, Ivan Todosijevic was sentenced. They are trying to provoke the Serbs in every way because Kurti does not want to implement what was agreed upon," Petkovic said.

He emphasized that by leaving the institutions, the Serbs had wanted to show that they no longer wanted to suffer terror.

He pointed out that the Office for Kosovo and Metohija reacted to every incident, and informed the international community, but that there was no reaction.

He added that the people had read the intentions of the opposition.

As he said, "Kurti is now much calmer in front of Vucic, because he realized that he could not talk about mutual recognition".

"When you look at the documents that were delivered to us and what Vucic's struggle is, you will understand how much we are fighting, and we have to save Kosovo and Metohija, stay on the European path, and strengthen the economy. Now it is much easier because a lot of money is invested in Kosovo and Metohija to build new kindergartens, and a new Hospital Medical center and jobs are created. Today, Serbia can do that, because there is much more money in the state coffers. The opposition would like to get hold of the state coffers, and that's why the people recognized the hypocrisy. And we saw the opposition in Pristina, those who always oppose Kurti on the issue of Serbia, now they are sending messages of support," Petkovic assessed.

According to him, regardless of what Kurti and EU representatives say, what Vucic says is much more important.

"The CSM is a stumbling block with which President Vucic fought. Borell says that the CSM must be in accordance with the relevant previous agreements. This proposal was not signed by Annex Serbia, but it will be implemented up to the red lines. Until now, we have been hostages of Pristina, because there is no implementation and no progress towards the EU, now it is different. The EU will decide who has fulfilled what and who has not," Petkovic said.

As he stated, it was important to preserve peace, achieve good relations with the international community, and advance toward the EU.

"We agreed to go in the direction of normalization. In the Annex, there are more obligations for Pristina. This does not mean that the time will not come when it will be difficult for us as well. Let's see what we can do so that they don't mistreat our people anymore," he said.

As he pointed out, it had not even been possible to talk with Kurti until the meeting in Ohrid.

"He said that he wanted the CSM on three pillars, based on the Constitutional Court, Federica Mogherini's letter, and statements to the media by Derek Chollet and Escobar. He is trying in every way to make the CSM meaningless. The West cannot regulate politics in Serbia, politics is led by the Government of Serbia and the president, and the people decide," Petkovic emphasized.

He pointed out that the people should know how President Vucic was fighting like a lion.

"What he is saying is only a part of what he is doing for the people of Kosovo. When they said that he would sign something, Vucic said that he wanted to talk, but that he did not agree to recognition and membership in the UN and that he would not step on it. Vucic is fighting and resisting pressure, only Serbia has not imposed sanctions on Russia. Look at the problem they are in today in Pristina because they have to form the CSM, and our obligation is only to agree to the declaration on the issue of the missing persons, which is what we want," he added. 

He emphasized that the issue of missing persons had been raised by Vucic and added that the issue was not a political issue.

"We responded to 23 requests from Pristina, nothing was found at the last location, and we are waiting for excavation at nine locations, we sent the request a long time ago. It is in our interest to come to an agreement on this, we accepted the EU declaration, the only thing we did not accept was the term "forcibly disappeared", and Pristina did not accept that declaration," Petkovic said.