Petkovic congratulates Serbia on Statehood Day: Let us safeguard Kosovo and Metohija as an integral part of our country

The Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, extended Statehood Day greetings to the Serbian people and to all citizens of Serbia in Kosovo, calling on them to remain devoted and loyal to their country and, on this great national holiday, to strengthen their faith in themselves and in their homeland, as well as in the shared commitment, as he emphasized, “to preserve Kosovo and Metohija as an integral part of our country and as our true national cradle.”

In a post on Instagram, Petkovic stated that the symbolism of Sretenje (Statehood Day) in the Serbian national consciousness is inseparable from the Kosovo ethic and the idea that “Serbia, without Kosovo and Metohija, cannot have firm foundations of statehood, nor can the Serbian people maintain their national identity and self-awareness.”

He recalled that the First Serbian Uprising, as a state-building movement, would not have been possible without the memory of medieval Serbian statehood, underscoring that throughout Serbia’s modern history, the love of freedom has always borne the “Kosovo imprint.”

“Sretenje is a day when we pay tribute to our ancestors and their national achievements, but also a day when we pledge ourselves to future generations and consolidate our determination and resolve to leave them an orderly, strong, and modern state, founded on the principles of the first Serbian Constitution of 1835,” Petkovic stated.

He emphasized that by investing more funds in Kosovo in recent years than ever before in modern history, Serbia is not only investing in its people but also strengthening the very foundations of the state structure we are leaving to our children.

“Serbia will continue to pursue, firmly and justly, the preservation of the state and of the Serbian identity, which is inseparable from the Kosovo ethic, because it is precisely this ethic that gives us the strength to continue to develop and grow with a clear political and national self-awareness,” Petkovic concluded.