Vucevic: The Serbian Army would effectively and successfully implement the President's order to enter the territory of the Kosovo and Metohija

Minister of Defense Milos Vucevic said today that the leadership of Serbia hads been warning for years, especially since Albin Kurti came to power, about continuous pressure, harassment and physical persecution of the Serbian people in Kosovo, and added that the Serbian Army respected UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and the Kumanovo Agreement and that it had never entered the territory of Kosovo.

Vucevic pointed out at the press conference, on the occasion of, as announced, the lies told by the Pristina Minister of the Interior Affairs Xhelal Svecla about the events in Banjska, that the cooperation of the Serbian Army with KFOR was good and continuous in accordance with Resolution 1244 and the Military Technical Agreement from Kumanovo.

"Serbia believes that it is important that KFOR plays a protective role, especially in the areas where the Serbian population lives," Vucevic said.

Vucevic added that there was a continuous campaign against the Serbian Army from Pristina and in the foreign media, which was inappropriate and irresponsible, and pointed out that all these years KFOR troops had not crossed into the territory of central Serbia, nor had the Serbian Army done so without agreement, absolutely implementing the Kumanovo Agreement and Resolution 1244 .

"Until now, it has never happened that the Serbian Army in any way tramples on these documents, acts and disrupts communication with KFOR. This is not technical, but essential information of importance for the safety of our citizens in Kosovo and Metohija, as well as the overall security of Serbia. In accordance with the above, from all what we could hear from Pristina and the world media, there is a continuous campaign against the Serbian Army, its numbers and activities, movements and deployment of the Serbian Army on the territory of our country. We consider them completely inappropriate, irresponsible and reject them as absolutely untrue," Vucevic said.

Vucevic underlined that if the Serbian Army received such an order from the President of Serbia, for its units to enter the territory of Kosovo as part of Serbia, they would carry out such a task efficiently, professionally and successfully.

"And then they would announce it to the KFOR command. They would not work behind anyone's back but respecting the norms of international law and the law of war. Until today, we have not had to make such a decision, and Serbia will do everything in its power to prevent this from happening, by keeping the peace and looking for political solutions", explained Vucevic.

That is why, as he has added, it is important to continue the political dialogue, to respect Resolution 1244, to apply the Kumanovo Agreement, and to implement what was achieved in the previous agreements within the framework of the dialogue, in order to avoid any possible escalation, which is not in the national interest of Serbia.

After Vucevic, the Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Army, Milan Mojsilovic, also addressed the media, denying Pristina's allegations that the former vice-president of the Serb List, Milan Radoicic, participated in military exercises at the Pasuljanske livade training ground, a few days before the conflict in Banjska. He pointed out that such accusations by Pristina, that the Serbian Army trained "terrorists" - insulted the common sense.

The Kosovo police also use weapons produced in Serbia

Vucevic, after Mojsilovic finished his presentation, asked how it was possible that today the presence of the Serbian Army at the positions of the administrative line towards Kosovo bothered anyone, when today there have been 8,000 fewer members of the Serbian Army than in December 2022 and January 2023.

"How come there were no attacks on the state of Serbia and the Serbian Army, on the same issue? What happened and what scared someone in the international community," he asked.

Vucevic said that since 1999, the Serbian Army has not led any proceedings that would lead to a violation of the Kumanovo Agreement or Resolution 1244.

"Milan Radoicic did not participate in the military exercises in the Pasuljanske livade - period. The fact that someone releases thermal images from an unclear location, with unidentified people, does not mean anything. This morning I saw that they published a video of an exercise with hammers. The Serbian Armed Forces as well as their paramilitary troops in Kosovo have hummers, both we and them. Our hummers are armed with a 12.7 mm machine gun, which everyone who understands knows that there is no maneuver ammunition, and that it is not possible to carry out such exercises as in the video. And in that video, which the Albanian side can you see the infantry waving around that vehicle that is operating? Pristina has a 7.62 mm machine gun on the same hummers for which there is maneuver ammunition. The question arises whose vehicle is that and who is acting," Vucevic asked and showed photos of the Serbian Army hummers and the hummers used by Kosovo authorities.

Vucevic said that Serbia and the Serbian Army were faced with a barrage of accusations in the previous days that they trained and armed Serbs in Kosovo.

"As evidence, Kurti and his co-perpetrators are using allegedly confiscated weapons that were shown to the public, indicating that they were manufactured in Serbia. According to that logic, I have to ask everyone, and above all Kurti and his co-perpetrators, what we will do about the Kosovo police using the same Serbian weapons," he emphasized.

Vucevic stated that the special units of the Kosovo Police used the Serbian M70 automatic rifle.

"According to that logic, did Serbia arm and train the Albanian Kosovo police to shoot at the Serbs? We certainly did not sell them those weapons. Does it mean that we also trained them? It is logical that the Serbs have Serbian weapons, and where did the Albanians get Serbian weapons?" asked Vucevic.

Vucevic said that, without going into whose weapons and military equipment were shown by the Kosovo Police, the Ministry points out that the same weapons can be found in the territory of the former Yugoslavia and that it is complete nonsense for Serbia, the Serbian Army, the Ministry of Defense to participate in to what some call terrorist actions.

"Terrorism is the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo from Serbs, daily arrests, harassment, searches of hospitals, kindergartens, schools, not allowing EULEX to participate in the actions they are authorized to participate in," he said.

Vucevic repeated that Serbia had no problem in cooperation with KFOR and EULEX.

"We have no problem with additional KFOR forces being deployed in the area where Serbs live and throughout Kosovo. All the activities of the Serbian Army are defined through valid acts of the state, and we do nothing secret or hidden, we respect all the listed agreements, and every activity of ours would be announced, very clear, visible and noticeable," emphasized Vucevic.

Vucevic said that Serbia expected an answer to the question of what happened on September 24 in Kosovo, so that the Serbian authorities could participate in establishing the facts and so that the truth would see the light of day.