Petkovic: Kurti will stop at nothing to attack Serbs; No mention of the CSM in Pristina

Petar Petkovic, Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, has warned that Albin Kurti is attacking Serbs in every possible way, without regard for the means used. Referring to the recent arrests and deportations of Serbian police officers from Kosovo, Petkovic stressed that this represents not just blatant discrimination, but open ethnic cleansing. Ahead of Vidovdan, he told Kurir that Serbs in Kosovo will once again mark the holiday with dignity, but that Kurti will likely attempt to use this important occasion for provocations against the Serbian people.

Asked whether international interlocutors are receptive to Serbia's arguments—given that he is also working through diplomatic channels to oppose Pristina’s actions—Petkovic responded that the facts are on the side of the expelled Serbs, and that there has never been any agreement barring residents of Kosovo from being employed in central Serbia.

“In the past 10 days, Pristina has expelled 10 Serbian police officers employed in central Serbia. Neither the First Brussels Agreement nor any other agreements reached in the EU-facilitated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina ever stipulated that people living in Kosovo and Metohija cannot be employed or perform work activities in central Serbia—that is, outside of Kosovo. There are no exceptions to this,” Petkovic emphasized.

He added that these were young individuals whose families have lived in Kosovo for generations, with spotless records and no criminal offenses. One of them has a wife in advanced pregnancy, and others have small children.

“The brutal expulsion of people from their homes, forced separation from their families, and the denial of freedom of movement violate a number of international conventions that guarantee human rights. This is not just crude discrimination—it is open ethnic cleansing,” Petkovic underlined.

He stated that in recent days, the Office for Kosovo and Metohija has informed all relevant international representatives about the persecution of Serbs and the violations of their rights, and is in diplomatic contact with them. He expects international actors to exert the necessary pressure on Pristina to reverse these decisions.

“The only thing that matters is whether our expelled Serbs and their families will have their right to a normal life restored,” said the Director of the Office.

When asked how difficult the situation is for Serbs, Petkovic warned that Kurti is attacking Serbs by every means available.

“Some cynical diplomatic representatives in Pristina describe this violence as a process of establishing the rule of law. Today, no one in Pristina even mentions the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities (CSM), because clearly, no one there has the ambition to establish lasting and sustainable foundations for Serbian-Albanian relations. The so-called Serbian question is being 'resolved' by forcing Serbs to gradually leave Kosovo and Metohija,” he pointed out.

Petkovic noted that since Kurti came to power, more than 20 percent of Serbs have left northern Kosovo.

He emphasized that Serbia is vitally committed to peace and stability in the region, but that this does not mean it will passively watch as the Serbian people are oppressed, women and children insulted and harassed.

“We will continue to fight with all available political and diplomatic means to end the oppression of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, because this scenario only benefits those who seek a new escalation in the Balkans,” Petkovic said.

He also stated that, regardless of the political situation in Pristina, Serbs are denied the right to a peaceful and secure life.

“Kurti’s paramilitary units storm Serbian institutions in the north of the province daily, removing people from their jobs, seizing our facilities, turning the north into a police base. Leaders of the Serb List receive summons for questioning, arrest warrants are issued against Serbs for peaceful protests, our people are arrested, deported, and stripped of their rights every day. Kurti’s terrorists are choking our children and harassing women. This must stop—for the sake of stability in Kosovo and Metohija and the entire region,” Petkovic declared.

He also said that Kurti is “most dangerous and irrational” when he feels his power is slipping.

“That is why Kurti has launched his local election campaign on the backs of the Serbs,” Petkovic added.

“However, Serbs have endured and survived in conditions of lawlessness and political violence for years. This situation is neither new nor unfamiliar, and we will show that we are strongest when times are toughest. Just as Kurti’s terror against Serbs did not win him power in parliamentary elections, so too this new wave of violence will not help him in the local elections on October 12,” he said.

Asked whether he sees any solution other than repeating the elections in Kosovo, Petkovic responded that he is interested in the political climate in Pristina only insofar as it concerns the status of the Serbian people, and that the Serb List is the only true and unwavering defender of the Serbian people, whose decisions will continue to be supported by Belgrade at every opportunity.

“Today, we see that Kurti regrets not being able to ban the Serb List and insert some loyal Serbs into parliament. There is no doubt that new elections will include renewed efforts to disqualify the Serb List through irregular means, and these dangerous moves could trigger new crises,” Petkovic warned.

Regarding the ban on displaying Serbian symbols and flags for Vidovdan, he noted that Serbs are the only people in the world forbidden to do what everyone else is allowed.

“This is yet another senseless act of violence through which Albin Kurti destroys any prospect of interethnic reconciliation and trust in Kosovo and Metohija. What’s next? Banning Serbian newlyweds from raising the Serbian flag? Removing flags from our churches? Forbidding our people from identifying as Serbs? Albanizing their names and surnames? I’m not exaggerating when I ask these questions, because further radicalization will have serious consequences,” he warned.

Petkovic also stated that instead of working toward building a functional multiethnic society in Kosovo, some international representatives are encouraging and feeding Kurti’s ideological atavism. Meanwhile, Albanian extremists are spraying UÇK terrorist graffiti on Serbian homes, clinics, schools, and playgrounds—with no reaction or consequences.

Asked how Vidovdan will be marked in Kosovo given Pristina’s efforts to remove all Serbian symbols, Petkovic replied that there is no doubt Serbs in Kosovo will once again mark Vidovdan with dignity, because the essence, significance, and value of this holiday are felt most deeply in Kosovo.

“In Kosovo and Metohija, this holiday remains a true foundation of Serbian identity. There’s no doubt that Kurti will once again try to use this great holiday to provoke Serbs, just as he does every year. His chauvinism is most clearly reflected in senseless bans, threats, and ultimatums directed at Serbs during national celebrations. There is no holiday during which Kurti or his extremists have not attacked a Serb, a Serbian child, or a woman... But just as strong as his hatred is, so is our resolve to celebrate Vidovdan in peace. After the horrific abuse of a graduating Serbian student in northern Kosovska Mitrovica by Kurti’s police, I cannot help but approach this great national holiday with deep concern,” Petkovic admitted.

When asked about the gathering being organized on Vidovdan in Belgrade by protesting students, Petkovic said that those who call themselves “Second Serbia” neither understand Vidovdan nor its ethical foundation, and that they seek to divide Serbia on the day when the Serbian people celebrate unity and their moral core.

“We will not give them any pretext to provoke violence on that day. The Serbian people will celebrate Vidovdan in every city and village where our language is spoken—brotherly and united, as befits our nation. And they, like Kurti, incite and carry out violence against the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija,” Petkovic added.

Asked how he interpreted former U.S. President Donald Trump’s statement—made in the context of ending the Israel-Iran conflict—that he had prevented conflict between Belgrade and Pristina during his first term and would correct the mistakes of the Biden administration, Petkovic said that as long as Kurti holds power in Pristina, he cannot afford to be optimistic about “miraculous positive turns.”

He noted that the current situation in Kosovo is the result of the internationalization of Serbia’s internal affairs, and logically, solutions cannot be found outside of the international framework—specifically the UN and Resolution 1244.

He recalled that Trump, “as a pragmatic man” who favors negotiations, had in his previous term emphasized economic cooperation and the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital as a precursor to creating a climate for finding sustainable political arrangements. That process led to the Washington Agreement, which, Petkovic stressed, was subsequently violated and halted by Kurti.

“That is why, as long as Kurti remains in power in Pristina, I cannot be optimistic about miraculous positive shifts—despite fully recognizing how important it is for us to seek solutions, maintain peace, and protect lives, especially to persist in the political struggle for the survival and continued presence of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, a goal to which President Aleksandar Vucic remains steadfastly committed,” Petkovic concluded.