Vucevic: Pristina's goal is a political accusation of Serbia and its president

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Serbia, Milos Vucevic, assessed that the target of Pristina was not Milan Radoicic, but a political accusation against Serbia and its President, Aleksandar Vucic.

As Vucevic said for RTS, Serbia is a rule-of-law state, where the rule of law exists, and, as he added, after the statement of Radoicic's lawyer and media reports, procedures have been initiated in accordance with the law, as would be the case with any citizen of the country.

"What we announced as a state that we will establish the facts, considering the limited ability to act in Kosovo, we are doing to determine what happened in the municipality of Zvecan," he explained.

Asked about accusations from Pristina and the request for the extradition of Radoicic, Vucevic said that Radoicic was not their ultimate target; instead, it was the state of Serbia and President Vucic.

"While he was within the range of their rifles, Radoicic was the target of liquidation. But the ultimate target is Serbia, its state leadership, its president, in other words, it's a political accusation against our state," he explained.

Regarding the pressure on Serbia, Vucevic said that the country should not be concerned about the impression it left but focus on determining the facts if it wanted to be a sovereign state, and as he said, that's the policy of today's Serbia.

"The pressure is enormous. We are subjected to serious pressure, blackmail, and other forms of unconventional behavior toward our state. But a sovereign state makes decisions in accordance with its laws, not based on what someone says," Vucevic emphasized.

He said that Banjska was the culmination of unbearable pressure on Serbs in Kosovo.

"We are constantly dealing with the consequences of the events in Banjska, but we have not yet looked at the causes that led us to all of this. It is a continuous policy of persecuting Serbs," he emphasized, recalling numerous arrests and shootings.

He pointed out that the Kosovo state was being built on terrorism, from the murder of harvesters, children on the riverbank, to all other events, adding that there had been six shootings of Serbs just this year.

"We have a continuity of the very clear policy of the Kurti regime with the clear political goal that Serbs cannot survive in Kosovo," he believes.

He also asked what interest Serbia had in what happened in Banjska – absolutely none.

"We need to look at who benefits and who suffers from the consequences; that should be an indicator of who might be behind it or who is interested, and who has created the atmosphere for it to happen," Vucevic emphasized.

Regarding the reinforcement of the Turkish contingent in KFOR, he said that for the first time, Turkey had become dominant in that mission, and it was also getting a commander.

At the same time, he added, Turkey is one of the largest donors of weapons to the Kosovo Security Force.

"This is an unfavorable development for us that raises concerns. We are worried when we see that they have five Bayraktar 2 drones and that they have received serious anti-tank systems, howitzers, and mortars. In relation to this, we ask our partner Turkey what is happening and why they are violating Resolution 1244 and the Kumanovo Agreement," he explained.

Vucevic mentioned that the military camp of the Turkish contingent near Prizren was named "Sultan Murat."

"I am not a conspiracy theorist, but the symbolism is strong and clear," he underlined.

When asked about the security situation in southern Serbia as a whole, Vucevic said that due to Kosovo, it was very challenging and complex, with significant risks.

"After September 24, it is more complex; it seems to be calming down, but when we take into account that there have been arrests of Serbs after that, even one who was going to a funeral, when it is questionable how the Serbs were killed, I wouldn't say that the fact that, thank God, we don't have new murders or incidents, should create the illusion that things are calming down," the Defense Minister said.

He pointed out that the circumstances on the ground are fragile when it comes to maintaining peace, as it doesn't seem that Pristina wants de-escalation.

He noted that there was intelligence information that the Kosovo Security Forces had additionally engaged reserve units and were concentrating more KSF members in South Mitrovica.

"We cannot bring back lost lives, the Serbs or Albanian policeman. Everything else is on the table, and a political struggle is ahead of us. I do not want to accept the narrative that everything is lost and over. We face a tough political struggle for Serbia, for all citizens, Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija, for our survival and presence. I believe that President Vucic personifies and leads such a policy, and I believe that Serbia will withstand the challenges. There is no surrender or withdrawal. We are obliged to fight for Serbia for our children," Vucevic said.