Serbian FM Dacic to VoA: Pristina preparing operation to take over Trepca (Serbian media)
Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic told Voice of America, after a UN Security Council session devoted to the latest UNMIK report on the situation in Kosovo, that the authorities in Pristina are planning to take over the Trepca mining complex and are setting explosive devices in the north of Kosovo.
“There is intelligence that Pristina is planning to launch unilateral operations which could destabilize the north of Kosovo. One of those operations was the allegedly-police operation which included the use of 70 combat vehicles and the use of force against the arrested,” Dacic said.
Dacic said that the next target is the Trepca complex which he said would be “conquered”, adding that another possible goal is the laying of explosive devices across the north of Kosovo. He said that intelligence had been shared with Serbia’s Western partners and with KFOR and warned that there is a high risk of destabilization.
"This is a big challenge and that's why I warned KFOR, because their task is to protect all citizens, regardless of whether they are Serbs or Albanians, to prevent an attack on northern Kosovo. If KFOR does not do that, we are at great risk of destabilizing the entire region," Dacic said.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs says that everyone has received such news with great interest and attention.
"At today's Security Council session, no matter how much someone has sympathy or not towards Pristina, the vast majority of members condemned behavior towards the UNMIK members, spoke about immunities because they also need to protect UN personnel around the world," said the head of Serbia's diplomacy.
He said that the need to preserve peace and stability in the region was highlighted and to continue the dialogue, and that the majority emphasized that it was necessary to abolish the tax.
"We come to this central issue. In order not to reach a solution, obviously there are some forces in Pristina, whether they have some support from abroad or not, that's the question now. Obviously, there are some indications and desires that there will always be some unilateral moves and provocations that will drag us away from dialogue and reaching a solution. I have to point to a major change in relation to some other past times, that it's not the United States," Dacic said.
He states that the aim of his statement is to warn the international community that KFOR takes measures, because it is competent and therefore present in Kosovo.
"We would not like to come to the conclusion that KFOR does not want to fulfill what it needs to, and then the question arises of whether Serbia should consider that Resolution 1244 no longer makes sense because they will not protect Serbs. Then Serbia must protect its people. This leads us further and further into the escalation of the problem. That's why I think, and we hope that this will not happen at all, and we constantly warn that such Pristina ambitions must be controlled, and these plans prevented, so that there will be no new intensification in the region. The intensification does not suit us, we want to continue the dialogue and reach a solution," Dacic told Voice of America.