Vucevic: Serbs are being sent a message that they are not welcome in Kosovo

Minister of Defense Milos Vucevic, speaking on RTS, stated that it was a reality that new legal proceedings for alleged war crimes were being initiated against Serbs in Kosovo and that in that way, a message was being sent to the entire Serbian community that they were unwelcome and could not stay and survive in the areas where they had lived for centuries.

"It is certain that political pressures against the Republic of Serbia regarding Kosovo and Metohija, and not only on that issue, continue. I think there is, of course, a question of position toward the Russian Federation today, we have the issue of attempts to unitarize Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the issue of relations in the region. A rather challenging period lies ahead, primarily, I would say, in the next six months, not just until the end of January, and Kosovo and Metohija will be the dominant topic," Vucevic emphasized.

He added that Belgrade should continue to be maximally constructive, safeguarding state and national interests, but that it should also have clearly defined red lines.
Miroslav Lajcak stated that he expected Belgrade and Pristina to reach an agreement by the end of January. Vucevic also assessed that it was not realistic to achieve something in the next six months, not just until the end of January, that had not been achieved in decades.

When asked about Belgrade's maneuvering space at the moment, Vucevic assessed that this space was "the size of a five-penny coin."

"Only those who are very skilled in geopolitics, politics, strategy, and even tactics can keep or preserve the ball in such a small or narrow maneuvering space. It is simply the consequence of events that have occurred from the Berlin Congress to today. Those who do not want to see this as a unique series of events or a sequence of facts leading us to this situation do not understand the issue of Kosovo and Metohija," Vucevic stated.

He added that it was necessary to consider everything that had happened, not just events from 2007, 2008, or 2012.

"I think the Albanians are making a historical mistake using their unquestionable demographic position in Kosovo and Metohija. They are making big mistakes toward the Serbs, and that never pays off historically. I think the people who are dominant in terms of numbers should never act against the people who are in the minority at that moment, as is happening today to Serbia in Kosovo and Metohija by the Albanians. We Serbs have made mistakes in certain historical periods toward the Albanians and ourselves. I am afraid that the Albanians have not drawn any lessons or moral from all of this and are doing even worse things than anyone can imagine, and that, in the further development of events, cannot be turned for the better," Vucevic assessed.

On the question of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff announcing that they would work to make military service mandatory, Vucevic emphasized that they would not give up on that.

"It is not a call to war but an understanding of all security aspects of geopolitical circumstances, the situation in the state, the situation in the region, and, above all, the future of the Republic of Serbia," the minister stressed, adding that the question remained whether, if reactivated, military service would last for 100 or 120 days.

"Our proposal is up to four months at most, and, of course, if the state accepts it, we will seek a time frame to prepare barracks and recruitment centers for the conditions for the reception of a young army, new recruits in line with the modern circumstances of life. We do not want to return to the seventies, eighties, or nineties, but to ensure that these boys, future soldiers, the pride of Serbia, have the best possible living conditions in the barracks," Vucevic said.