Kosovar PM: Serbs should leave Kosovo every 90 days

By Al-Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
19 Aug 2022 21:37

Tension between the two Balkan countries have been on the rise amid the eastward expansion of NATO and the high expectations held towards the EU as a mediator in dialogue.

A woman walks in front of a graffiti that shows maps of Kosovo and Serbian coat of arms and flag, that reads: ''No surrender!'', in northern, Serb-dominated part of ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Aug. 17, 2022 (AP Photo/Bojan Slavkovic)

Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti at talks with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic insisted that Serbs who live in Kosovo should receive temporary entry declarations every 90 days and leave once those expire, the head of Serbia's office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, said on Friday.

On Thursday, Vucic and Kurti met in Brussels to find a solution to the Kosovo issue.

"Kurti said yesterday in Brussels that this document will be valid for 90 days, and what's even worse, he proposed that the Serbs who have been living in Kosovo and Metohija since ancient times, in their homes with their families, on their land, would have to travel outside Kosovo in order to get another declaration for 90 days," Petkovic told a briefing, adding that this proposal is absolutely unacceptable.

See next: Explainer: The Kosovo-Serbia tension

The recent escalation between Serbia and Kosovo, which Belgrade sees as its breakaway region, was triggered when Pristina announced plans to introduce new border rules from August 1. The controversial move pushed Serbs to set up roadblocks. Kosovo authorities eventually decided to postpone implementing the new regulations until September 1, on the condition that the roadblocks are removed.

Yesterday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that Vucic and Kurti were unable to come to a consensus during their meeting in Brussels, however they did agree to continue the dialogue.

Last month, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova called on Kosovo, as well as the EU and the US who back the Kossovo authorities, "to cease provocations and respect the rights of Serbs in Kosovo."

Earlier in March this year, Vucic says his country will not join NATO because it cannot forget the children killed in 1999 in Yugoslavia.

"I believe that Serbia must not join NATO. Serbia is a free country and a militarily neutral country. Serbia will be defending its land and its sky on its own, but let me tell you something: our duty is to forgive and our duty is not to forget," he said during a speech.