Petkovic: Kurti is trying to cause a new crisis; he is brutally violating the license plate agreement

Prime Minister Albin Kurti was again trying to cause a new crisis and tensions in the north of Kosovo, and since this morning his police officers were not allowing vehicles with proper registrations with "KM" markings to cross the Jarinje and Brnjak crossings, the director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, announced.

Petkovic stated that "Kurti's policemen are detaining certain vehicles at administrative crossings, while they threatened the ambulance driver that next time he will not be able to enter the territory of the province and transport patients in a vehicle with KM plates".

"This is a brutal violation and trampling of the agreement on license plates that Belgrade and Pristina reached in Brussels on November 23 last year, after a serious crisis that threatened to completely ruin the peace in Kosovo and Metohija. By that agreement, it is foreseen that until the final solution about license plates, KM license plates remain in full use. Also, with that agreement, Pristina undertook to immediately suspend the fine policy and all activities regarding the so-called re-registration of vehicles against drivers of vehicles with KM plates. At that time, Belgrade accepted to stop issuing new license plates,” Petkovic said.

However, Petkovic adds, this morning "Kurti's police unilaterally and unlawfully started implementing a fine policy again, harassing the Serbs at the crossings and breaking the agreement, thereby creating an introduction to new tensions and problems in the north of Kosovo and Metohija".

"That is why we expect the European Union, which is the guarantor of the agreement, to protect and facilitate its implementation and to clearly determine such moves by Pristina. As usual, Kurti did not choose the timing by chance to start implementing his measures while the forum is being held in Davos, which should build bridges of peace and cooperation, as during the summit in Berlin, he replaced Nenad Djuric and trampled on the Brussels agreement," Petkovic says.

According to him, Kurti started his actions on Krstovdan, which further spoke of his intentions to provoke the Serbs.

"Let me remind you that last year's crisis was caused by Kurti's decision to violently and without any legal basis cancel KM license plates and issue warnings to the Serbs and charge some fines, and since this morning he has once again resorted to his violent illegal and unilateral measures, directly against the Serbs. It is more than obvious that the only cause of crises and all the troubles in Kosovo and Metohija is Albin Kurti," Petkovic said.