Petkovic: I demanded an immediate end to the persecution of Serbs in Kosovo and the formation of CSM

Petar Petkovic, Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, emphasized tonight, after a new round of technical-level dialogue in Brussels, that the last obstacle on the path to implementing the Declaration on Missing Persons has been removed.

Petkovic stated that another difficult and long round of dialogue in Brussels has concluded, likely the last under Miroslav Lajcak's mandate.

"I say likely the last under Lajcak's EU facilitator mandate because when it comes to Kosovo and Metohija, one never knows what the future may hold. This was probably a farewell meeting with Lajcak," he explained.

He mentioned that an agreement on the necessary final step regarding missing persons has been reached.

"Now the last obstacle regarding the implementation of the Declaration on Missing Persons has been removed. We have the Declaration, the Rules of Procedure, and we will form a commission. A joint commission has been agreed upon to support the Working Group, which will continue to be chaired by the International Red Cross. This is particularly important to us. Without our efforts, this agreement would not have been reached. Belgrade has always insisted on this, always emphasizing that the issue of missing persons is not political, but purely humanitarian," Petkovic underscored.

He highlighted that the Belgrade delegation insisted on crucial issues for Serbs in Kosovo, such as the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities and de-escalation issues.

"We strongly insisted in our discussions with EU representatives, and later with the representative from Pristina. I repeatedly asked Bislimi if Pristina supports the European draft statute for the CSM. We need to agree on the statute to start forming it. Without the CSM, there is no survival for the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija," said Petkovic.

Asked whether he received a response from Bislimi, he stated that he did not; instead, Bislimi merely laughed about the topic.

"Even when Lajcak asked him if he had an answer to the question posed five times—he said he needed to consult, as if he didn't know what it was about...," Petkovic remarked.

In this sense, he noted that Pristina is not interested in normalizing relations, but that its representatives are there just so it cannot be said that they are obstructing the dialogue.

"But, they are in an election campaign, they are not interested in normalization," the director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija stressed.

Regarding de-escalation, he stated that the persecution of Serbs, especially from the north of Kosovo, must stop, as well as the unlawful presence of Kosovo police in the north.

Petkovic also conveyed that he was the first to raise the issue related to the explosion on the Ibar-Lepenac canal, aiming to directly confront Bislimi with, as he stated, false accusations spread by Pristina about Belgrade's involvement.

"I asked him if he had any concrete evidence aside from political assessments, lies, and provocations. Of course, they have no proof. It is clear that official Belgrade has nothing to do with it, and we have repeatedly made this clear—that the attack was directly aimed against the interests of Serbs in Kosovo," said Petkovic.

He emphasized that Pristina uses such incidents to conduct propaganda against Belgrade, due to the elections in Kosovo.

"I also talked about all the motives for the attack, which are not on Belgrade's side, and Bislimi, of course, had no answer," Petkovic added.

He noted that the discussions also covered other important issues related to normalizing relations, as well as everyday life—about managing integrated crossings, veterinary certificates, the need for all crossings, besides Merdare, to be open to Serbian goods, and for trucks to enter Kosovo without issues.

There was also talk about energy issues, and Petkovic informed Lajcak about an incident in Brđani, where a group of Albanians today attacked workers from "Elektrosever" who were attempting to install electric meters on homes.

"Albanians refuse to sign a contract with 'Elektrosever' and refuse to pay for electricity, thereby endangering both the company and the agreement. From Kurti's claims that Serbs do not pay for electricity, it has now turned out that the problem is with the Albanians, which we already knew," Petkovic pointed out.

He shared that there was also discussion about the return of internally displaced persons to Kosovo.

"We insist on this because there is a huge number of displaced persons, and many want to return to their native towns and villages, but the necessary security conditions do not exist for Serbian returnees to come back, given that most incidents occur precisely in returnee settlements, especially in Metohija. Not to mention the lists of suspects for alleged war crimes, which sends a message that Serbs are not welcome in Kosovo and Metohija," said Petkovic.

He added that the Belgrade delegation responsibly approached today's round of dialogue, as well as each previous one.

One of the topics of discussion was also telecommunications.

"We insisted on this, we have done everything to show that we are ready to move towards normalizing relations. Dialogue has no alternative. This issue can only be resolved within the framework of dialogue, to preserve peace and stability, to fight for Serbs in Kosovo," said Petkovic.

Kurti is doing everything to exclude the Serb List from the electoral race

Petkovic said that, regarding the upcoming elections in Kosovo, he pointed out the very bad, negative atmosphere and how Albin Kurti's regime is doing everything to suppress the Serb List, to declare it terrorist, and to exclude it from the electoral race.

"I pointed out the unacceptable language of Glauk Konjufca and other MPs, who have negatively and hostilely related to the MP from the Serb List, as well as the atmosphere in which Serbs live. A large number of incidents, arrests of Serbs without reason, has given additional strength to the Serb List, and I hope that they will win all 10 seats in parliament allocated to the Serbian community, because that is the only way for them to take matters into their own hands, both in terms of institutional life and in order to prevent further persecution of Serbs in Kosovo," Petkovic emphasized.