Serbia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs: International missions must end arbitrary arrests of Serbs in Kosovo

Regarding today's arrest of four Serbs near Gnjilane for allegedly committing war crimes, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia has called on international missions to end the arbitrary arrests, the only result of which is the destruction of Kosovo's multiethnic character.

The Ministry's statement emphasizes that today's arrest is yet another blatant example of attacks on Serbs with the aim of intimidating and expelling the Serbian people from the territories where they have lived for centuries and generations.

The Ministry urges the international community to raise its voice against the increasingly frequent ethnically motivated attacks on Serbs and the arrests of Serbs without any legal evidence or adherence to procedures in accordance with the law.

"The aim of such actions is solely to create an ethnically pure Kosovo and Metohija," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs warns.

The statement also notes that the "temporary Pristina authorities" continue to implement a policy of collective punishment against the Serbian people and that the recent arrest of four Serbs must trigger a red alert for international institutions, as the survival of Serbs in Kosovo is more threatened than ever before.

"Restrictive measures against Pristina should remain in place and, if necessary, be intensified to prevent the daily torture of the Serbian people and to preserve peace and stability," the statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia concludes.