It is calm in Mitrovica and Gazivode: Everything is prepared for the arrival of Vucic (PHOTO)

Just before of the visit of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to Kosovo and Metohija (KiM), after the threats from Pristina, which jeopardized the visit, Kosovska Mitrovica is on its feet, as citizens expect the Serbian president to visit Kosovo.

A new round of dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina starts today: Aleksandar Vucic and Hashim Thaci face to face in Brussels

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The presence of police officers on the streets has increased in the northern part of the city.

President Vucic will decide tonight on the visit of KiM, and he ordered the army last night, and then asked the police and the Security Intelligence Agency to stop any communication with the Kosovo police, KFOR and any Albanian international representatives on the occasion of his visit.

After the statement by Hashim Thaci, that there is nothing that interferes with the visit of President Vucic to Kosovo, the Director of the Office for KiM, Marko Djuric, announced that he published a document on Twitter that shows that the president of Serbia is banned from visiting the hydroelectric power station in Gazivode.

Foto: Tanjug/Dimitrije Goll

Director of the public company for water supply and production and distribution of electricity "Ibar", managing Gazivode, Srdjan Vulovic, told Tanjug today that they are preparing for the visit of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, although the visit is currently uncertain.

- We are preparing as if the president will come and I think that will happen. There is no reason for him not to come, especially because he comes with good messages and good intentions. Vucic is trying to solve the Kosovo problem in the interests of all the interested parties, both Serbian and Albanian - Vulovic said.

Foto: Tanjug/Dimitrije Goll

Asked whether there were tensions near Gazivode Lake since yesterday, given the threats from Pristina that Vucic had no reason to be there, as well as due to the fact that the presence of US soldiers was noticed there at the end of August, which was understood as scaring of the management of "Ibar", Vulovic said that there is nothing that could be alarming.

- Nothing happened since last night, everything is normal at Gazivode, there are no foreign citizens, no Kosovo police forces, nothing that could be alarming - Vulovic said.

He reiterated that Gazivode is strategically very important for both sides, both for Serbian and Albanian, primarily because it supplies water to the inhabitants of the southern part of the province, southern Mitrovica, Vucitrn, Srbica, Obilic, Pristina and other populated places.

Foto: Tanjug/Dimitrije Goll

- The problem is that the water in this lake cools the plants of the thermal power plan in Obilic. Without the water and its use, there would be no electric energy for KiM. Supply of drinking water and producing of electric energy are two main problems as far as Albanian side is concerned - the director of "Ibar" explained.

About the Serbian side, the main problem is that all objects are located on the territory of Zubin Potok, 90 percent of the object is on our territory and we manage it.

- We are working, producing, and the product is harvested on the Kosovo side. Lake Gazivode with the hydro plant can be a big driver of development, not just of Zubin Potok, but of the entire north of Kosovo. This lake is beautiful and it has fantastic possibilities for tourism, and so our problem has become economic - Vulovic said. 

Foto: Tanjug/Dimitrije Goll

Responding to a question on how to solve the problem of the water supply of Serbs living in the north of KiM, Vulovic says that water supply is currently under construction, and the completion of works is expected later this year or next year.

He points out that the Serbian government has secured six million euros for this so that the Serbs from the north will also use water from the lake for water supply.

Vulovovic, as the director of the company managing Gazivodama, expects President Vucic to finally solve the problem of Kosovo and Metohija and, with it the problem of the lakes that have repeatedly been the stumbling point for the talks between the Serb and Albanian sides.

- Problems have been standing still for years. I think that the time has come for them to be solved - Vulovic concluded.

(Telegraf.co.uk / Tanjug)