Petkovic: Serbia will start the procedure for convening an emergency session of the UN Security Council tomorrow

Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, stated that Serbia would initiate the procedure for convening an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council tomorrow because, as he emphasized, "it has come down to the wire" due to Albin Kurti's violence against the Serbs in Kosovo.

"Serbia will request an urgent session of the UN Security Council, and tomorrow we will start the procedure; our Mission at the UN will submit the request to the President of the UN Security Council. In February, Guyana is presiding, which unfortunately recognized Kosovo, but we will fight to get a majority of votes for that session," Petkovic said for RTS.

He stressed that the reasons for this move were the escalating acts of violence by Albin Kurti, through which he conducted ethnic cleansing of the Serbs in Kosovo day by day, creating unbearable living conditions and intentionally subjecting the Serbs to such conditions that they could not stay in Kosovo, but sought an exit, primarily to the territory of central Serbia.

He added that more than 14% of Serbs had left Kosovo in the last year alone, heading towards central Serbia.

Petkovic pointed out that the Serbs in Kosovo were in an extremely difficult situation because Kurti had initiated a crisis that led to a spiral of daily violence in Kosovo.

Since Pristina decided to ban the use of dinars, we have witnessed Kurti, Xhelal Svecla, and others settling scores with Serbs, especially in Metohija, where they are the most vulnerable, returnees...

"They are closing Temporary Institutions, taking everything out of small offices, taking furniture, removing air conditioners; they took firewood for heating. This shows the extent of Kurti and Svecla's hatred, who likes to be present in such situations to show how powerful and mighty he is...," Petkovic noted.

Regarding the police raids on Serbian institutions, the postal thefts, the stopping vehicles of the "Post of Serbia" from which four million dinars were seized, and the questioning of the Serbs working in those institutions, Petkovic states that Kurti's demonstration of force is absolutely unacceptable, going so far as to prevent them from receiving pensions and social benefits.

He notes, however, that the latest statement from the US Ambassador in Pristina, Jeffrey Hovenier, is encouraging. For the first time, he clearly and directly mentioned the attack on Serbian institutions and stated that it must stop, urging Kurti and Svecla to return the four million dinars they seized.

"It is important that the United States has spoken out clearly. This is the third statement, and a different tone is noticeable compared to before. I hope it won't remain just at the verbal level," Petkovic said.

He also stated that Serbia would do everything to ensure that the Serbs in Gorazdevac and everywhere in Metohija or anywhere in Kosovo received their income as they had received it so far, considering that the "insane decision" to abolish the dinar jeopardized the survival of the Serbs.

When asked about Pristina's message that the closure of Serbian municipalities in Klina, Pec is not the end, Petkovic emphasized that Serbian institutions in Kosovo were important infrastructure for the formation of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities, and no one had the right to abolish them, especially not forcibly.

Given that the European Commission has submitted a proposal to make the obligations from the Ohrid Agreement a part of the negotiation process, Petkovic stated that Serbia was always ready to negotiate and move towards a compromise solution to preserve the people in Kosovo, striving for a policy of peace and stability, while Pristina was the one that did not want dialogue.

"When you don't have a dialogue, you have a situation heading towards ethnic cleansing," Petkovic emphasized.

He recalls that President Aleksandar Vucic said in Ohrid that Serbia was ready to implement many things towards normalizing relations but had "red lines", which he reiterated in parliament and at every meeting.

"And that is that Serbia will never agree to Kosovo's membership in the United Nations, nor UN agencies and organizations. We've told everyone that. Period," Petkovic stated clearly, emphasizing that Kurti was the one who refused to implement what had been signed ten years ago – the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities.

"That proposal is now in the hands of EU member states; we'll see how they respond. But the majority understands Serbia's 'red lines', which cannot and will not go against its Constitution. As long as Vucic is the President of Serbia, Kosovo will not become a UN member," Petkovic said.

He also conveyed that diplomatic activities and contacts with numerous international officials regarding Kosovo were ongoing "non-stop".

"Vucic almost daily talks to the Quint, significant international representatives. We are doing absolutely everything for the international community to restrain Kurti in his intention to expel the Serbs," Petkovic noted.

He added that the state leadership was genuinely engaged in a tough struggle, taking care of every individual and every institution in Kosovo; there was a part of the opposition in Belgrade that attacked Vucic.

"As if they relish the fact that Kurti wants to eliminate Serbia in Kosovo, they say the state has capitulated... Shame on them. This is solely a consequence of Albin Kurti's actions, and not a word about him from them. We will fight for our people, and we will not abandon them," Petkovic said.

When asked if the dialogue was on hold, he responded that Belgrade was always ready to talk, and it was a question for Kurti, who refused to engage in dialogue.

"He is not interested in the CSM, which was agreed upon a decade ago, which is why he started shutting down Serbian institutions. But we will fight," Petkovic concluded.