Petkovic thanked Rocquefeuil for France’s statement that “Igor Popovic be released immediately”

The Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, met today with Brice Roquefeuil, Director for Continental Europe at the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, to whom he expressed gratitude for the Ministry's statement calling for the immediate release of Igor Popovic, the Office for Kosovo and Metohija announced.

Petkovic also thanked Roquefeuil for France’s constructive role in preserving peace and stability in the Western Balkans, which is reflected in the very close relations between the two countries and their presidents, Aleksandar Vucic and Emmanuel Macron.

Petkovic told his interlocutor that the detention of Igor Popovic is yet another in a series of escalatory moves by Pristina, which continues to provoke new crises and tensions in Kosovo through unilateral and illegal actions directed against the Serbian people, according to the Office.

In doing so, Pristina undermines and erases all the achievements of the Brussels dialogue and destroys the possibility of normalizing relations with Belgrade, Petkovic warned.

“From the very beginning, Belgrade has not had a reliable or credible partner in the dialogue with Pristina, as agreements reached are either violated or not implemented, such as the establishment of the Community of Serb Municipalities, which our people have been waiting for more than 12 years. Instead of working in that direction and honoring the 2013 Brussels Agreement, Pristina arrests an assistant from the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, who as a legal expert participated in various phases of the dialogue. This is an attack not only on the human rights of Serbs but on the very essence of the dialogue itself,” Petkovic emphasized.

He added that unilateral actions, institutional violence, the expulsion of Serbs, and physical terror against the Serbian population are the cornerstone of Albin Kurti’s policy in Kosovo.

“Stirring up crisis in the north of Kosovo and Metohija serves solely to mask the political crisis Kurti faces in Pristina, which is intensifying as the October 12 local elections approach,” Petkovic concluded.