Vučić: Kurti wants war, West does not see Serbia as partner

Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, wants war at any price, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said on Serbian television, adding that Western countries do not view Serbia as a partner.

Speaking live on Serbian television, Vučić said that the Western countries “do not view Serbia as a partner”, and that he will decide on “technically joining” the crisis talks in Brussels. After a number of incidents in Kosovo, Josepp Borrell called both Vučić and Kurti for a crisis meeting, to take place during this week.

“We have been preserving stability and peace for years, we are progressing economically, our country has really given everything to make it so. These are facts and data, whether someone likes them or not. But no matter how we tried to be a serious partner to the West, on the European road, I tell you openly that they never looked at us in that way, if we did not serve their every request,” said Vučić.

The President of Serbia then listed the cases of violence and underlined that no Albanian was wounded by firearms, while several Serbs were shot in Kosovo.

“Yesterday I had five, and since this morning three conversations with Western representatives. I also exchanged messages. Fair ones, unfair ones, you name it. The Americans and the British, QUINT, say that they are following everything carefully.” Vučić said.

The president continued that in his view, only Italy is being fair in its response to Serbia and he thanked them for it. He renewed his call for Pristina to withdraw special forces from northern Kosovo.

Vučić accused the West of supporting Kurti and not respecting the UN resolutions and said Serbia would no longer update anyone on combat readiness.

“In accordance with international public law norms, and as far as we are concerned, we no longer inform anyone except about raising or lowering combat readiness. Except for the obligations we have towards NATO, and we will always respect them by Resolution 1244,” he said.

He called the EU-backed dialogue process “completely meaningless” as Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti does not want to talk.

“When they teach someone to talk and not provoke us with a new trick every day and the new situation on the field that we would have to accept. And then we will talk. Until then, let them talk, they have something to talk about,” said Vučić.

When asked about the crisis meeting in Brussels, which Josep Borrell requested, Vučić said that every crisis meeting of this kind is “basically asking me to cut some slack”.

“Serbia is on the European road; it will not create incidents. This is how a serious country behaves, and you (Kosovo) are not a country, nor will you ever be,” he added.

(EURACTIV.rs | Bojana Zimonjić Jelisavac)