Happy TV - Dačić: The Priština authorities are looking for a shortcut, a new Operation Storm in order to ethnically cleanse the north of Kosovo and Metohija

26. Dec 2022.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dačić was a guest of the breakfast television of Happy TV.

With regard to the new provocation by the Albanian authorities in which the Serbs were accused of firing from the barricades at KFOR, Minister Dačić said:

- Regretfully, we are witnessing a series of one-sided actions from Priština and it is a sequence of events permanently aimed at causing incidents. Today everyone, including the international community, has forgotten how it all started: the referendum was not allowed, afterwards came the elections, license plates, taxes... They are constantly causing new incident situations and preventing us from moving forward. Unfortunately, we are putting out old fires all the time. As long as Kurti is in charge, there will be no peace! He is not prone to come to a peaceful solution. He is constantly trying to avoid two things - one is to form the Community of Serb Municipalities and to do it immediately, and the other is to reach an agreement which would not imply recognition.  The ultimate goal of everything he does is recognition of Kosovo, Dačić said.

Minister Dačić mentions that the so-called Kosovo lacks a strategy for new recognition, and Priština itself admits it.

- The last recognition of the so-called Kosovo was by Israel. Israel did not have to do that, however, it only took care of its own interests. This is an indication that the policy of cross-acceptance of their independence in the world has failed. They mention a certain number of countries that have recognised their independence, but that number is not correct. There are a total of 27 countries that have withdrawn their recognition of the so-called Kosovo. Priština authorities are trying to find a shortcut similar to Operation Storm.  Their goal is to expel the Serbs and physically occupy the north, thus solving the Kosovo issue. Such policy is visible to us. We have all clearly communicated our red lines. We will invest everything in peace, but we are determined to defend our people. The important thing is to preserve the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija since if there is no people there, it is pointless to talk about all other things. It is the bottom line and the risks are numerous. Kurti is the biggest threat to regional peace and security. If the international community is able to restrain him, the peace will be preserved. If they encourage and tolerate him, it is uncertain how it will end. Minister Baerbock told me there was no government in Kosovo that would agree to form the Community of Serb Municipalities! – Minister Dačić said.

The Minister underlines that the most important thing for Kurti is to take a shortcut to an ethnically clean Kosovo.

- That time has passed and it will not happen, that is why Priština is so nervous - said the Minister.

He said that the international community had no answers to the questions asked, nor it dealt with the problem of how everything started in the north of Kosovo and Metohija.

- No one is commenting on why the barricades were set up in the first place. They ignore the reason for setting up the barricades! There is a switch of arguments and nobody wants to deal with those issues.

Minister Dačić said that it was a great shame to ban the entry of Patriarch Porfirije to Kosovo and Metohija.

- It is unbelievable that there were no reactions. There should have been reactions yesterday. Patriarch Porfirije is not an ordinary citizen, he is the Head of the Serbian Orthodox Church. And they claim that the rule of law has been established in Kosovo and Metohija! - Dačić said.

- Some politicians in Serbia praise Kurti, demonstrating that they are not acquainted with the situation in the country and they work against the interests of Serbia.  Kurti conceived his political idea as a Marxist-Leninist, today he is an extreme nationalist. He was active together with Demaci and participated in all the events in the 90s, it is incorrect to talk about his positive political involvement. Taking all this into account, Kosovo and Metohija is the only place in Europe where a Patriarch, a religious leader, can be prohibited from coming to the seat of his church, in the Patriarchate of Peć. Only in this place can the family of a President be on the arrest list with no response from the international community following. Now we realise that there will be no justice for us. We have to be aware of all those limitations – stated Dačić.

He said that Kurti would like most that all the Serbs on his list were at the barricades so he could start arresting them.

- We have similar political artillery surrounding us and sending the same message, but they get angry with us when we answer in the same way. We are ready to conduct a political dialogue that includes the protection of Serbs in order to prevent their new persecution. I do not see that the Serbs are guilty of anything.  There is no guilt whatsoever on the Serbian side and everyone can see that. We do not know what the future event dynamics will be.

The France–Germany plan should not be discussed now while the fire is being put out - notes Dačić. 

- As long as the situation persists, there will be no fast steps forward. The essential action of the international community would be to put pressure on Kurti.

Minister Dačić notes that the Priština authorities want to bury all agreements.

- They want to abolish KFOR, UNMIK, Resolution 1244. It is an indicator of the highest degree of insanity of the Priština administration.

- Most important is to keep the peace and not respond to provocations. The Serbian leadership will continue to consistently advocate for peace, but also with a clear message that Serbia will be compelled to intervene if KFOR does not protect the Serbs. We hope it will not come to that and that KFOR will do its job properly.  In the present situation with a war in Ukraine going on, it is not in anyone's interest that another war flares up in the region - said Dačić.

Source: Happy