Selakovic: It is good to hear that the USA is in favor of the CSM, but we also need to see actions

The Minister of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs of Serbia, Nikola Selakovic, said tonight that it was good that we could hear from the US representatives that they were in favor of the formation of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities, but that we could not hear that from the representatives of Brussels.

"It is good that we hear that the United States is for the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities and that they say that it must be formed, but I would like to see some concrete moves on the ground," Selakovic told TV Pink.

He reminded that in April it would be 10 years since the signing of the Brussels Agreement, which also carried the Implementation Plan, i.e. the implementation of what was signed, and which states everything, step by step, what Belgrade and Pristina should do.

"But, from the first moment after the signing of the agreement, Pristina did everything to pressure Belgrade to fulfill all its obligations, without them doing anything that is their obligation," Selakovic said.

That is why, he says, it is good to send messages, but it is also time to see what will happen if Kurti and his group do not implement the obligation to form the CSM.

"It is indicative that today we talk to the representatives of Washington differently than 10, 15 or 20 years ago, which is a serious praise for the state leadership and President Vucic, who is recognized as a serious statesman who keeps his word. But, on the other hand, Pristina is the one that, with a series of unilateral activities, destroys and violates everything that was reached by agreement, and is never punished," Selakovic said.

He stated that it would be good to see what will happen to Kurti as a result, noting that in the meantime everything can be seen contrary to what is expected - from the request for Kosovo's admission to the Council of Europe, to the submission of the request for candidacy in the EU, visa liberalization regime for Kosovo.

"When you look at it, it looks like someone is rewarding them. For what?" he asked.

Selakovic says that it is good to talk, that the words of the President of Serbia are valued and appreciated, but it is also important that, finally, it is seen that Pristina is responsible for something and that it bears the consequences.

This, he added, shows how important it is for Serbia to remain consistent with the policy of peace, which, he says, every citizen should understand.

It is a fact, he says, that the Brussels Agreement clearly prescribes the competences and powers of the Community of Serbian Municipalities, but Kurti interprets it in his own way.

"And we just need to read the agreement. When it comes to the CSM, it is clearly stated that it should have executive powers, as well as specific areas in which it must have those executive powers. Everything that is not written should be dealt with by the implementation team, which will draft the CSM Statute, which should elaborate what is written in the agreement. All other interpretations can only concern what is not written in the agreement. What is written must be fulfilled", Selakovic said.

He added that it is a success for Serbia when it can discuss vital national problems, such as the issue of Kosovo and the Serbs in Kosovo, with high-ranking US officials and those who hold respected positions in the Biden administration.

Selakovic also stated that Serbia had been facing numerous attacks on Serbian children for days, recalling the attack on Serbian boys on Christmas Eve in Strpce.

"You have a measure of house arrest for young men in Klokot on the alleged charge of shooting on New Year's Eve, a young man was beaten in Klokot on Christmas, we had a shooting at an 11-year-old boy, horror in Sarajevo, where children from Croatia sing - 'Kill the Serb', attacks on parents. Today, you have Kurti's statement in Racak about 18 indictments against Serbs for alleged crimes... And you have one EU reaction to all that, in which the Ustasha rampage is not condemned. You have one reaction from the representatives of the EU, who talk about the condemnation of Racak, about not forgetting the massacre, and it does not occur to them to condemn neo-Nazism and the Ustasha of Jasenovac", Selakovic said.

He has added that it seems that it is a crime that 44-45 terrorists were liquidated in Racak, but it is not a crime that 79 children were killed in NATO aggression, nor that 312 out of a total of 437 places in Kosovo were ethnically cleansed of Serbs.

"That's not a crime? And with all that, we are prohibited from prosecuting the murderers of our children on Petrovacka cesta", Selakovic stressed.