Vucic: We are using all diplomatic means to preserve the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said today that the state is using all diplomatic and peaceful means to protect the Serbian population in Kosovo, but that it will not allow a pogrom or the expulsion of Serbs.

Asked how the state would put a stop to „Albin Kurti's rampage“, given that it is obvious that it cannot rely on international missions in the area, Vucic said he understood all the people's anger, resentment and fury, because his own anger was even greater, but that he was trying not to endanger what is already at risk any further.

„And we are using all diplomatic, peaceful means to protect our population. The problems we are facing are complex, and the hardship is great. We do not need a conflict with NATO at this moment, but we are making it clear that we will not allow a pogrom or the expulsion of our people. No one is ever satisfied when you stand on that line, because if I say one word, they will accuse me of wanting war, and I do not. Quite the opposite. But if you do not push to that line, then you have no chance of trying to preserve and ensure the survival of our people“, Vucic told reporters in Aleksandrovac.

That is why, he said, this line is difficult, just as difficult are the decisions, and the decision-making process, concerning this issue.

„You always have to weigh everything. Even whether we can help the winery here in Stanjevo or not, because that determines whether we will have tax revenue for the military, how many kindergartens and schools we will have. And if we enter into this, how much poorer we would become, how many additional problems we would have... Who would return their children to mothers in coffins? I would not want that. No one would want that. You have to make decisions every day that will mean supporting our people, preserving them and ensuring their survival in their homes, while at the same time continuing our economic development. Because everything we have today, we have thanks to our entrepreneurs and tax revenues, and because of this progress we can buy the best weapons. If Serbia grows by four percent while others grow by one percent or 0.8 percent... That means we can only wait“, Vucic said.