Petkovic with Verola: With Kurti at the helm in Pristina there is no interlocutor willing to compromise

The Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, met today in Rome with the Director General for Europe and International Trade Policy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy, Nicola Verola, to whom he pointed out Belgrade’s constructive approach in the dialogue with Pristina, emphasizing that with Albin Kurti at the helm there is no interlocutor willing to compromise. He stated that it is of crucial importance for Pristina to fulfill its obligations and establish the Community of Serb Municipalities, which Serbs have been waiting for more than 12 years.

Petkovic conveyed to Verola Serbia’s strong commitment to preserving peace and stability in the Western Balkans and, in that regard, Belgrade’s constructive approach to the dialogue with Pristina, with the aim of achieving the much-needed normalization of relations and stabilizing the situation on the ground, the Office for Kosovo and Metohija said in a statement.

Petkovic informed his counterpart about the results of the recently held local elections in Kosovo, in which the Serb List won power in all 10 Serb-majority municipalities, but also about the fact that, as he said, the illegitimate Albanian mayors and members of the Kosovo Police left behind catastrophic conditions in the municipal buildings in the north: devastated and ruined premises, stolen office furniture and valuable paintings, as well as desecrated icons.

“Belgrade, led by President Aleksandar Vucic, is doing everything to preserve peace and stability in Kosovo and Metohija and is actively engaged in the dialogue process in Brussels, but in Pristina, led by Albin Kurti, there is no interlocutor willing to reach a sustainable compromise, only someone intent on raising tensions and taking escalatory steps to the detriment of the Serbian people,” Petkovic stressed.

The Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija emphasized that it is of crucial importance for Pristina to fulfill its obligations under the First Brussels Agreement on the normalization of relations and to establish the Community of Serb Municipalities, which the Serbian people have been waiting for more than 12 years, and to refrain from violent and unilateral actions that directly undermine peace and stability and endanger the survival of the Serbian people, who, he underlined, are victims of the terror of the authorities in Pristina.

Petkovic also presented concrete examples of repression and institutional violence against Serbs, as well as Belgrade’s measures to protect its own people through diplomatic and political efforts, in the spirit of peace and the respect of basic human rights.

The statement recalls that this is the second meeting between Petkovic and Verola, to whom he conveyed that Belgrade highly values Italy’s support for Serbia’s European path, thanks also to the excellent relations between President Aleksandar Vucic and the Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni.

The meeting was also attended by Thomas Botzios, Head of the Department for the Balkans and the Adriatic at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.