Vucevic: I am afraid that Kurti will form the CSM as a shell, without content

Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia and Minister of Defense, Milos Vucevic, said today that he did not have the impression that Albin Kurti would form the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities, that is, he was afraid that he would do "pro forma", as a mask or a shell without content, which would further complicate the position of the Serbs and Serbia.

Vucevic told TV Prva that the issue of Kosovo and everything that happened in Kosovo was a first-class security risk for Serbia.

The minister said that Serbia would be exposed to increasing pressure.

"The West thinks that Ukraine will win, and Kyiv is preparing for a counterattack Our objective assessments are that neither side has the strength for a strong advance and that it will be a long war with great losses and material destruction. And Serbia will be under increasing pressure," Vucevic said.

He points out that what the West did in 1998/99. and in 2008, opened Pandora's box, and that's why they care that the "Kosovo knot" is untied, to be, according to them, solved once and for all.

"Hence the pressure on Serbia to resolve it, to come to terms with reality, to voluntarily give up part of the territory. Although you do not see that they are offering you anything concrete, no compensatory offer. I am absolutely not in favor of trade with the Republic of Kosovo, but they do not even trade," Vucevic said.

When asked whether the CSM would be formed as prescribed, Vucevic said that the US and European countries were pressuring Pristina to do so, but that he was not convinced of that.

"I don't have the impression that Kurti will do that, but I am afraid that he will do it 'pro forme', as a mask, a shell, without content, and that this will make our situation even more difficult. There is an agreement from 2013 and 22 principles from 2015, and it is not a question of whether you like it or not. What should be the content, competencies, and powers, is defined through those agreements, with EU guarantees, which is the most interesting and annoying thing, because the EU put its signature on those acts, but it was not implemented. Then where does the confidence come from that what they are saying today will be implemented,"  Vucevic said.

But he says that Serbia must stay at the negotiating table because anything else would have disastrous consequences, even though Belgrade has every right to be offended.

"Kurti was determined that he did not want to form the CSM; you can hear from Pristina that it is not in accordance with their constitution... Everything they are doing is not in accordance with our Constitution. But Serbia is a responsible country; it has to talk because it is aware of the situation on the ground. And the fact that it is not in accordance with their constitution is irrelevant," Vucevic said.

He repeats that it seems to him that there is no will to form the CSM, but that time may show a different development of events.

Vucevic also pointed out that April could be a demanding month, since the deadline for license plates, i.e. re-registration, was about to expire, but he also pointed out that during his recent stay in Brussels, he had heard that Europe and the US would not allow Kurti to confiscate the vehicles.

He also states that there is also the issue of elections in the north of Kosovo, in which the Serb List does not participate, because the CSM has not been formed, so it is possible to imagine a situation where "Kurti's Serbs" participate in the elections and that there is a sham of government in four municipalities in the north, or that some Albanian party, even though they are a convincing minority, wins and takes over the municipalities where 99 percent of the citizens are the Serbs.

Which again led us in a bad direction, Vucevic said.

"It is not an easy time ahead of us, but we must be calm, concentrated, rational, and courageous. Serbia is doing everything in its power to behave responsibly. We showed that we are a more constructive party in the negotiations, and that is important for the overall impression, in order to avoid the scenario from the 90s when Serbia was the 'bad guy,'" Vucevic said.

The minister also pointed out that Serbia helped the Serbian community in Kosovo every day, which would not exist or survive without Serbia, just as there was no Serbia in Kosovo without the Serbs.

"Without the Serbs, without the Serbian Orthodox Church, and monasteries, we do not exist in Kosovo and Metohija, and then it is a territory where no one wants to see Serbia. That is why it is crucial that we protect our people and help them in difficult circumstances, especially those south of the Ibar," Vucevic said.

Commenting on the announcements from Pristina about the formation of a military intelligence agency, Vucevic said that it was a surprise only for those who did not follow the situation daily, because Pristina was also working to complete what it saw as statehood.

In this sense, he states that Pristina is transforming the KSF; that it has a minister of defense in the government; it announces a military intelligence agency, and says that Serbia will monitor the situation.

"They don't have the right to do that, but they also don't have the right to send special units to the north of Kosovo, but they have an obligation to form the CSM, and they didn't fulfill it. Everything depends on the principles of the judge, and the judge is the stronger one. And here, the West is stronger, which sponsors the negotiations, is often non-objective, but we have no way out and that's why we need wisdom," Vucevic said.

He added that the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, had led the dialogue in Brussels and Ohrid phenomenally, and had managed to ensure that everything had gone well and that there had been no negative reflections.

"I don't know how he did it, but he did. He did something incredible, while everyone on the side cheered for him to fail," Vucevic said.

When asked what the biggest security challenge for Serbia was, the minister replied, "that it is Kosovo and Metohija, but that what is happening in the region, in Ukraine, in the whole world must also be followed".

"We have to understand the configuration on the European continent, the regrouping, and within NATO, to understand the lessons from Brussels, follow what is being done in Kosovo, the formation of the armed forces, to help the Serbian community survive and be exposed to as little pressure as possible. To preserve peace and stability, not because it is some mantra, but because we desperately need it. Serbia can only strengthen economically, infrastructurally, in the fields of health, education, and the military in conditions of peace and political stability," Vucevic said.

The Minister of Defense said that on April 22, for the Day of the Serbian Armed Forces, a spectacle was being prepared, that is, a manifestation at the airport in Batajnica, where the army would show everything it had, the most lethal and the most attractive.

"Citizens can be proud of the army, modernized, better equipped and armed, and I hope soon more numerous, considering the competition for special units," Vucevic said.