Starovic on Kosovo’s letter: Kurti shows a high degree of nervousness, but he should not be underestimated

State Secretary in the Ministry of Defense of Serbia, Nemanja Starovic, said, commenting on the letter that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti sent to European officials and the US Secretary of State, in which he "attacked" Belgrade and the Special Representative of the European Union Miroslav Lajvak, that it was quite certain that Kurti had shown a high degree of nervousness, but that nothing he did should be underestimated, RTS reported.

"After the failed round of negotiations in Brussels, and Kurti himself was solely to blame for the failure, during a statement to the media he even dared to announce very direct and very terrible threats in front of the headquarters of the European External Action Service, saying that the Serbs should suffer and pay. That is the ultimate expression of his nervousness." Starovic believes.

He recalled that Kurti had sent letters to addresses in Paris, Berlin, Washington, and Rome.

"It is interesting to analyze why not in London when we are talking about the five countries of the Quint, and then all the member states of the European Union. In those letters, he stated the kind of accusations directed at the European mediator Miroslav Lajvak, which are absolutely absurd. The claims are that Mr. Lajcak and the state the leadership of Serbia in collusion and that they are probably working together somehow against him, that is, against Pristina," Starovic stressed.

He reminded that the EU, in accordance with the mandate it received from the UN General Assembly 13 years ago, was in the position of mediator.

"Of course, neither Kurti nor any other of the previous leaders of the temporary institutions of self-government in Pristina spoke about the fact that they were pro-Albanian all this time," Starovic points out.

He also reminded that the EU, although it was a signatory of the Brussels Agreement from 2013, had not done anything to implement that agreement in practice for ten and a half years.

"What Kurti is now trying with those letters, with those accusations that he directs above all at Miroslav Lajcak and Josep Borrell, to me it somehow looks like when football players, and sometimes also coaches, start objecting to the referees during a sports match, carrying out that kind of pressure. No referee will ever change his decision due to the pressure he experiences on the field, but some referees with perhaps weak integrity will take that pressure into account or take it into account in the next contested situation. This is actually what Albin Kurti wants to achieve with this initiative and the letters he sends. I am not sure that it will bring him any great fruit and results because I do not believe that international diplomacy and international relations really work in such a way in accordance with this sports metaphor," Starovic concluded and added that nothing that Kurti did should be underestimated.

Starovic also said that the General Assembly of the United Nations represented the biggest and most important stage, sometimes the "arena of world diplomacy", and expressed his belief that the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, would defend the vital, state and national interests of Serbia in the best possible way.

He assessed that Serbia's participation in the UN General Assembly was very significant and that bilateral meetings could contribute to the strengthening of ties with many countries.

"It is very important to be present there and it is good that our delegation is really at the highest level - it is led by President Aleksandar Vucic. It is of course also an opportunity for dozens of bilateral meetings with world statesmen, especially with those who come from outside the European continent and for whom there are so many opportunities in the second part of the year," Starovic says.

He says that bearing in mind how powerful and effective President Vucic's performance was last September at the session of the UN General Assembly, he is sure that it will be the same this time.

"The previous session was marked by an intense and extensive discussion about the war in Ukraine. Apparently, that will be the case now as well. Then President Vucic, during his speech at the UN podium, set up a kind of rhetorical mirror by pointing out how many speakers presented before him that they all represented and emphasized the need to protect the territorial integrity of Ukraine with the list of detachments, but at the same time, he stated how many of them had actually previously recognized the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo and Metohija and in that way had actually trampled on the principles for which at that moment they pledged," Starovic pointed out.

He indicated that he was sure that the President would defend the vital state and national interests of Serbia in the best possible way, as well as that bilateral meetings would contribute to strengthening ties with many countries.

Among other things, he adds, the Serbian delegation will also have meetings with the highest representatives of Suriname.

"Suriname is the first country that decided to take that step to return to respecting the international public law by withdrawing the earlier decision to recognize the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo and Metohija at the end of 2017. From that year in 2017 until today, with a break that lasted for about a year and a half in accordance with the moratorium from September 2020, a total of 28 states decided to withdraw that move," Starovic said.

He says that many countries are deciding to reconsider their decisions that were not made exactly in accordance with international principles.