Ristanovic: Based on past experiences, Serbs are wary of the announcement of two new bridges over the Ibar

Petar Ristanovic, research associate at the Institute for Serbian Culture in Leposavic, stated that the announcement of the construction of two new bridges over the Ibar River represents an attempt to integrate South and North Mitrovica, and that Serbs, drawing from past experiences, are wary of this idea.

"It is a common situation here that things which should be good and positive, news that people under normal circumstances would welcome with joy, are met with suspicion by the Serbs. We can only speculate about the intent behind opening not just one but two new bridges, but it is quite certain that the goal is the integration of North Mitrovica with the southern part and, in some ways, to facilitate, even forcibly, the entry of Albanians into North Mitrovica in order to change its ethnic composition," Ristanovic told Kosovo Online.

He added that Serbs, informed by previous experiences, "sense, understand, and are cautious of this."

Ristanovic believes that putting the construction of two bridges in the spotlight is "part of the pre-election fervor" in Kosovo, and that their realization will depend on how much these bridges are seen as being of "national interest" to Albanians.

"From a financial standpoint, it is an expensive idea, Kosovo is definitely lacking funds. However, if it is assessed that this represents a higher interest for Albanians, I’m certain they would find the money, if they determine it to be of national interest. If that is how they see it, I believe Serbs will understand what that truly means – that the goal is not the construction of transportation infrastructure, but something else," Ristanovic warned.