Petkovic with Ziadeh: We expect objective information in UNMIK’s report on Pristina’s unlawful and violent actions

The Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, met today with the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of UNMIK in Kosovo, Caroline Ziadeh, to discuss the political and security situation in Kosovo ahead of the upcoming regular session of the UN Security Council, where UNMIK’s six-month report will be presented.

Petkovic emphasized that the period covered by the latest UNMIK report has been marked by numerous unilateral, unlawful, and violent actions by Pristina, which have continuously demonstrated the political and human rights deprivation of the Serbian people in Kosovo.

The Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija reminded that, during this period, the Pristina authorities had shut down several Serbian institutions across Kosovo – institutions that, as he noted, should serve as the foundation for the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities, which Pristina has refused to establish for nearly 12 years.

According to Petkovic, the closure of these institutions has jeopardized the payment of salaries, pensions, and other social benefits to the Serbian population in Kosovo, thereby threatening their basic livelihood.

"This undoubtedly leads to the final exodus and expulsion of Serbs from the province, with the goal of creating an ethnically pure Kosovo and Metohija – an old and undisguised ambition of Albin Kurti," Petkovic stated.

Petkovic also addressed numerous irregularities and vote manipulations in Kosovo’s elections, which, he claimed, have seriously undermined the electoral will of Serbian voters.

He pointed out that the Serb List was deprived of one parliamentary seat, which was instead given to Nenad Rasic, who, according to Petkovic, secured his mandate with the help of Albanian votes and, therefore, cannot legitimately represent the Serbian people, especially in parliamentary seats reserved for Serbian representatives elected by Serbian voters.

At the end of the meeting, Petkovic expressed Belgrade’s expectation that the UNMIK mission, under Ziadeh’s leadership, would provide objective information in its report regarding Pristina’s recent unlawful and violent actions, as well as the daily terror and mistreatment of Serbs in Kosovo.

Petkovic stressed that Belgrade also expects the report to include information on the fact that Pristina has long been preventing the Serbian Patriarch from visiting the faithful and Serbian religious sites in Kosovo, questioning "how we can even speak of any normalization of relations under such circumstances."