Vucic: The Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija know very well who fought for them and who did not

Yes, I fought, and the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija know very well who fought for them and who did not. Even after what happened in Banjska, it was clear who was on their side and who eagerly awaited it, hoping to gain support for overthrowing the Government in Serbia, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic stated in an interview with NIN, from which we share a part of the questions related to the situation in Kosovo.

When asked by the NIN editor that he had promised the Serbs in northern Kosovo "no surrender, Kosovo and Metohija stays"m and that there would be "no new Operation Storm", according to Dacic, Kosovo had lost 13% of its Serbian population in the last year, and many were currently registering their cars with new RKS license plates and what would happen with the first part of the promise, Vucic responded that "the Serbs are not leaving northern Kosovo because of Vucic, but because of Kurti".

And what would anyone else do in my place? If I did something else, you would say that Vucic is taking us back to the 90s, wars, and sanctions, which speaks of the hypocrisy of the entire public, which always expects to get everything, knowing that it's impossible. I will always be blamed, no matter what I do and how I do it. Yes, I fought, and the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija know very well who fought for them and who did not. Even after what happened in Banjska, it was clear who was on their side and who eagerly awaited it, hoping to gain support for overthrowing the Government in Serbia. We have not given up the KM plates, but I cannot tell people that we prevent them from taking other plates. Otherwise, I think everyone should have accepted all the plates, but Pristina did not want to accept the KM plates because, for them, it is a relic and a remnant of the Serbian state in Kosovo.

You mentioned Banjska. Have you communicated or perhaps seen Milan Radoicic since then? What do you think about his actions, and how much has he complicated both your position and Serbia's position?

I am not someone who will stand in people's way when they are going through a lot, but I know how much the Serbs were provoked. He will face serious proceedings in Serbia. Of course, all of that dramatically complicated Serbia's position, and if it weren't for the elections, I could provide you with some details on how much it really caused problems for the country, but...

How is it possible that our services did not know?

Please... I simply do not want to delve into that because there are things that have been happening for a long time, since last September when the barricades began. The Serbs did not want to leave the barricades. I fought for guarantees from Europeans and Americans, and they openly said they didn't trust anything. They were right; they said, 'They will sign everything, write everything, and tomorrow they will lie to us and chase us like rabbits'. Unfortunately, they were right. After that, there were a total of six shootings of the Serbs, for which no one has ever been held accountable. Everything that happened in Banjska was a reaction to that. Of course, the West is not interested in that; they are interested in the latest form that suits them as an additional measure of pressure on Serbia.

Could the state have reacted instead of individuals?

The state has been reacting all the time through diplomatic channels because it is not the time for a conflict with NATO. That would be bad and detrimental for us. We will not join NATO; we are a militarily neutral country, but we want normal, professional, and fair relations with NATO.

Now you are exclusively negotiating on Kosovo, but when you were Prime Minister, then-President Tomislav Nikolic was not allowed to present his platform on Kosovo in parliament and the government?

We talked with President Nikolic every time about everything happening around Kosovo. We discussed everything when I was the deputy Prime Minister, including the Brussels Agreement, and I must admit he was very fair. There is nothing pleasant about leading those negotiations, nothing that will make anyone happy participating in those talks. Those are the most difficult conversations, only now they want to talk to someone who can do something and who has real power. That's the only reason. Otherwise, am I happy about it? I'm not. It's just a burden on my shoulders.