Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric said that the Pristina authorities wanted to provoke “the fire of war” with their latest moves.
Djuric told an unscheduled press conference on Wednesday in Belgrade that Serbia is calling on the EU and the entire international community to “make Pristina see reason without delay.”
“We call on them to bring (Pristina) back to respecting the law, respecting agreements, and stop them on the path of further escalating the problem. Serbia and the Serbs reacted calmly, although it is completely clear that Pristina’s actions were aimed at bringing the Serbs into an impossible position that would mean their expulsion from Kosovo and Metohija. On the other hand, Pristina’s intention is to provoke the fire of war in Kosovo,” Djuric said.
He stressed that Serbia does not want any conflict, while it is quite clear Pristina wants to challenge precisely that.
“Serbia calls on the international community to react, we will not take any further steps, except for the peaceful protests Serbs are holding these days in Kosovo,” Djuric said.
He added Serbs will continue to respect the Brussels agreement and that Serbs will return to Kosovo institutions as soon as Pristina abolishes its “discriminatory measures”.
“We will not give Pristina an excuse for violence,” he underlined.
He said his message to the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija is that the entire Serb nations stands in solidarity with them, and that “we understand their struggle for survival and staying in their homes, the fight for their piece of bread, the right to live the lives worthy of people.”
This Serbian official assessed that peaceful protests (of Serbs in Kosovo) – that started on Tuesday and continued on Wednesday – showed the strength and determination “to wisely fight for our goals.”
Djuric added “the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija should listen to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who urged them not to rush with further steps, with leaving (Pristina’s) institutions.”
“We will wait some days to see if there will be further steps by the international community, and by then we will be peaceful and united. We will not give Pristina an excuse for violence and for bestial behavior,” he stressed.
