Petkovic: Kurti only wants war and chaos; I hope this is clear to everyone

The Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, stated this evening that the declaration by Kosovo's Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, that the bridge over the Ibar River must be opened and that there is no room for discussion on this topic clearly shows that he only seeks war and the provocation of conflicts with far-reaching consequences.

"I hope it is now clear to everyone, especially the international community, who Albin Kurti is—a Balkan arsonist who yearns for conflict and the creation of chaos in the region," Petkovic said in a written statement.

He added that Kurti has never been interested in dialogue, especially not in the Community of Serb Municipalities (CSM), because his policy is for an ethnically pure Kosovo, cleansed of Serbs.

Petkovic also pointed out that the only thing Kurti has done over the past two years, and continues to do, are violent and unilateral moves aimed at expelling and persecuting the Serbian people from Kosovo.

"The unilateral opening of the bridge is, from a security perspective, an extremely dangerous move by which Kurti aims to provoke conflict. Even on the day when U.S. officials, as well as other Quint members, the EU, and KFOR in recent days, clearly warn that the issue of the bridge can only be resolved through dialogue in Brussels and in no other way, Kurti is blatantly trampling on dialogue and the idea of normalization," Petkovic pointed out.

Whether Kurti is acting alone in this or actually has tacit support will be best revealed by the issue of the bridge, he says.

"Kurti can make whatever decisions he wants, but as long as KFOR is physically present at the bridge and does not allow it to be opened, the bridge will remain closed. Therefore, we can only rely on KFOR to stick to its publicly stated commitment and not allow the implementation of Kurti's insane and dangerous war plans," Petkovic concluded.