What do Serbian leaders say about the situation on the border with Kosovo, Croatia and Albania?

In an interview with CNN (USA) on October 2, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic affirmed that his country's accession to the European Union (EU) is his top priority.

(10.03) Tổng thống Serbia Aleksandar Vucic đánh giá về tình hình ở biên giới với Serbia và Kosovo. (Nguồn: CNN)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic assesses the situation on the Serbia-Kosovo border. (Source: CNN)

In addition, referring to the situation in Serbia-Kosovo, Mr. Vucic noted that Serbia is a constructive dialogue partner and has made concessions, while the other side “is gradually engaging in ethnic cleansing.” The leader added that achieving peace is in the interests of Serbia and the entire region.

He affirmed that Belgrade does not want to play any “games” and is committed to negotiations, noting that it is ready to discuss all issues and contact partners, including “European and American friends”.

“We are always very ready to negotiate. We are very constructive and will remain so. But there is one thing that everyone in the EU has realized, and that is that Pristina is not ready to create a community of Serbian communities… This is the biggest obstacle,” concluded President Vucic.

On the same day, Serbian Army Chief of Staff General Milan Mojsilovic said that the number of Serbian troops deployed near the border with Kosovo had returned to normal levels.

According to General Mojsilovic, the operational regime of the Serbian army “tasked with securing the administrative line” with Kosovo, the so-called “land safety zone” – a 5km wide strip of land along the border with Kosovo, has returned to normal. The number of troops there has been reduced from 8,350 to 4,500, a week after the deadly clashes in northern Kosovo.

Affirming that Serbia has not officially raised the combat readiness of its 22,500-strong army, Mr. Mojsilovic also rejected Pristina's claim that Serbia provided financial and logistical support to the "terrorist group" fighting against Kosovo police.

Milan Radoicic, an ethnic Serbian politician from Kosovo who has admitted taking part in the fighting in Banjska, has never received military training, Serbia's army chief of staff said.

Three days earlier, Washington had called on Belgrade to “withdraw its large troop deployment” from the region, while Pristina on September 30 also urged Serbia to reduce its troops along the border.

The US government confirmed that it was monitoring Serbia's troop deployment, describing Belgrade's move as "destabilizing".

Lãnh đạo Serbia thông tin về việc gia nhập EU, Croatia và Albania nói gì?

Serbia-Kosovo tensions escalated after clashes at the Banjska church near the border between the two sides - Photo: Kosovo security forces patrol near the clash area in late September. (Source: Reuters)

In related news, speaking in the capital Zagreb while receiving his Albanian counterpart Edi Rama, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic stressed that an investigation will determine exactly what happened on September 24 when a Kosovo police officer and three Serbs were killed, and was confident that “measures will be taken”.

Earlier, Kosovo security forces seized a large amount of weapons and military equipment after gun battles with an unidentified armed group of Kosovo Serbs. Along with that, Kosovo Serb deputy leader Milan Radoicic took responsibility for the incident, which Kosovo considered a "terrorist act".

Kosovo’s top diplomat, Donika Gervalla-Schwarz, called on the international community to impose sanctions on Serbia and threatened to freeze EU accession talks unless Belgrade handed over those involved in the Banjska incident. She warned that a new war could break out if Belgrade’s actions were tolerated.

Prime Minister Plenkovic stressed that the incident “cannot go unanswered”, and said that Belgrade had decided to declare a day of mourning for those killed in the incident.

According to Mr. Plenkovic, the EU special representative will propose measures once the investigation is completed.

For his part, Prime Minister Rama said that the EU should take measures to address the violence caused by “Serbian paramilitary forces in Northern Kosovo” and Belgrade's glorification of these people.

According to him, the aggressive actions of the forces are as worrying as Belgrade's reaction.

Source