The Director of the Serbian Government’s Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Đurić said to Radio Television Serbia (RTS) that Association/Community of Serb municipalities is in no way any threat to Albanian population, and that its primary goal is protection of Serbs in the province.

“First of all I think that it is terrible that certain politicians in Pristina are intimidating Albanians with the Community of Serb municipalities. The fact that Serbs will have more rights through that Community doesn’t mean that others will have less rights,” said Đurić.

He went on to say that 120.000 Serbs in Kosovo, what is one third of the number of Serbs that used to live in the province, should have a chance to survive, and that A/CSM will ‘provide that chance’.

Đurić stressed that it is important for Belgrade to hear these days from the highest officials in the EU that 25 December is a deadline for adoption of the A/CSM statute. “This is a message to those who are approaching to this process with the lack of will, and not to us. The EU is a guarantor for those agreements and we are fully ready to work on the implementation of what has been agreed,” said Đurić.