Vucic: Kurti will blame Serbs for the attack on the Ibar-Lepenac canal without evidence, the aim is to remove the Serb List

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, stated during a Government session held at the Palace of Serbia that Albin Kurti’s regime would accuse Serbs without any material evidence of carrying out an attack on the Ibar-Lepenac canal, with the intention of banning the Serb List from participating in the upcoming elections.

“On Kosovo and Metohija, our people are engaged in a difficult struggle for survival and political legitimacy. What I can tell you is that in the coming days, Kurti's regime will declare Serbs guilty without any material evidence of sabotage on the Ibar-Lepenac canal, with a clear political goal. Their aim is to find a way to ban the Serb List from participating in the upcoming elections,” Vucic said.

He noted that this move would be supported by the outgoing US administration, which “exerts significant influence on the EU to lift measures against Pristina.”

“They primarily demand this to enable Kurti another victory and to continue hindering the survival of Serbs in the southern Serbian province. I believe it will be important that I am in Brussels tomorrow to try to explain to European officials what is happening in Kosovo, even though they already know. Do not forget that 22 out of 27 EU member states have a vital interest in supporting Pristina in every way, regardless of what Pristina does. Beyond raising our voice, we won’t be able to achieve tangible results,” Vucic stated.

He said Serbia would continue with reforms and strive to meet all EU agenda items by 2026.

“We will achieve in many areas what no other country has done so far, such as reforms in media laws or the judiciary. Yesterday, I was pleased to hear from several ambassadors that they noticed greater energy in the Government regarding EU accession. Regarding EU clusters, they will finally open a cluster for us at the end of January or in early February. People might think it is important and a turning point. It is significant, but we still have much more to do,” the President added.

He urged the Government to form a team and expressed his desire for Milos Vucevic to lead the first team tasked with handling sanctions that the US plans to impose on NIS company.

“This team will not only include Government members but also many experts to negotiate with both Russians and Americans. We need to prepare for this, as it is a significant challenge for the Government and the country. We cannot allow ourselves to be left without oil. We understand why these moves are being initiated and must take care of our companies and teams. To avoid leaving it all to Bajatovic alone to negotiate, you need to form a team for negotiations with Gazprom on a new gas deal. All negotiations seem fine until the Government has to pay an additional 100 or 200 million. We must prepare for talks with the Russians to secure a three-year gas agreement. In any case, we will consume more gas in the future,” Vucic said.

The President of Serbia also called on citizens to join the Serbian Armed Forces.

“We have especially high salaries, not just for so-called special units. Continue recruiting soldiers, as we have secured significant funds to pay those serving in tank units, scouts, and everything else we need,” he said.

He also announced the largest military parade in Serbia, marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

“For the first time, we will show people everything we have purchased and produced. It is best to hold it in May due to the weather, at the beginning of May during the May Day holidays. It can’t overlap with May 9, as I will likely be in Moscow at Red Square,” Vucic said.