Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic has called on Serbs to live in peace with their Albanian neighbors as he began his official visit to Kosovo. His call came on Wednesday after he attended the opening ceremony of a maternity hospital in Pasjane municipality, east of the capital Pristina, where many Serbs live.

 The Serbian government will always be there for its citizens, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said while opening a maternity ward, part of a new hospital in the village of Pasjane, southeastern Kosovo-Metohija (KiM), on Wednesday.

Addressing those gathered at the ceremony, Vucic said that Serbia had always had the courage to defend and preserve what belonged to it, but it had made the most progress in times of peace and while making decisions “cool headed.”

Members of the Serbian national forum (SNF) welcome the visit of Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, but they complained that he decided to come to Gracanica during the election campaign. SNF made an announcement stating that the visit of Aleksandar Vucic to Kosovo and Metohija, although announced in December last year, “was rescheduled exactly for the time when election campaign for Mayor of Gracanica is on-going. In that way his visit presents preparation for another scenario of deepening divisions among voters. "

Kosovo visit of Aleksandar Vučić, Serbia's prime minister, signals a new chapter in the history of both countries.

Serbia's prime minister is making a landmark visit to Kosovo on Wednesday, signifying the first step towards normalising relations between the two countries.

Lutfi Haziri, deputy leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo. Sees the visit of Serbia’s Prime Minister in Kosovo together with the other ministers for Orthodox holidays, as a pilgrimage. “Kosovo cannot be endangered by Serbia,” said Haziri, who is also mayor of Gjilan, a municipality where Serbia’s PM Aleksandar Vicic will start his visit in Kosovo, at Pasjan village, in order to attend inauguration of the maternity hospital.

After inaugurating the maternity hospital in Pasjan, Serbia’s Prime Minister, Aleksandar Vucic, held a speech in front of the gathered population. Once again, he could not refrain from nationalist statements. “Kosovo is the cradle of Serbia. We will never forget Kosovo. We, as the government of Serbia, will continuously engage to create as many jobs as possible here, as well as a well-being for Serbs,” said Vucic.

Serbian Prime Minister, Aleksandar Vucic, has postponed the visit to Kosovo for 14 January, Vucic’s media office confirmed to Radio Free Europe. On Facebook, the Serbian Civic Initiative from Ranillug has called on interested people to welcome Vucic to Gracanica on 14 January, in the afternoon hours.

Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hashim Thaci, said in Tirana that there is nothing to worry about the visit of Serbian Prime Minister, Aleksandar Vucic, to Kosovo. “The visit of the Serbian prime minister is being done through the permission of Kosovo authorities. It is not the first visit and it will not be the last. These visits are taking place after the visits of Kosovo ministers to Belgrade so they are almost normal, ordinary, visits between two countries”, said Thaci to the media after meeting his Albanian counterpart, Ditmir Bushati.

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic will meet local Serbian political representatives this week on his first visit to Kosovo since taking up the premier's post last year.

Serbian officials said that Vucic will pay his first visit to Kosovo this week since becoming Prime Minister of Serbia in April 2014, most likely on Wednesday.

Marko Djuric, head of the Serbian government office for Kosovo, said Vucic planned to visit Gracanica, a large Serbian enclave near Pristina, as well as Serb-run municipalities in central Kosovo, Pasjane and Strpce.