Petkovic: By announcing reciprocity and seizure of license plates Pristina is "burying" dialogue

Photo: Kim.gov.rs

The director of the office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, assessed that by announcing reciprocity and confiscation of license plates, Pristina wants to "bury" the dialogue and set things ten years back.

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He stressed that this violates the agreement on the visits of officials, and added that he informed European Union Special Representative for Dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina Miroslav Lajcak about this during the trilateral meeting in Brussels.

Petkovic expects the dialogue at the expert level to continue in October.

"Belgrade wants to participate in the continuation of the dialogue, we are open to all topics - freedom of movement, ZSO, energy, justice, missing persons - but Pristina is running away from all topics, does not want to fulfill what is has promised," Petkovic told RTS.

Speaking about a meeting between President Aleksandar Vucic and representatives of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija and the Serb List candidates for mayors in the upcoming local elections, he stressed that "unity has been confirmed once again."

"That unity exists between the Serb List and Belgrade. Vucic once again supported exclusively the candidates of the Serb List, because that maintains the umbilical cord between the state of Serbia and the Serb people in Kosovo and Metohija," Petkovic stated.

He stressed that this is a message of peace, and that Serbia cares about its people.

"We will support our people even more strongly, we will continue to fight both diplomatically and economically,"  he added.

He pointed out that representatives of the Serb List conveyed to Vucic the unease of the people in Kosovo and Metohija because of announcements from Pristina related to a violation of the Brussels Agreement, namely the agreement on energy and justice in light of "the shameful verdict against Ivan Todosijevic," but also announcements about reciprocal measures and seizure of license plates.

"This endangers life and freedom of movement of the Serb people in Kosovo and Metohija, which representatives of the Serbs said they would not just silently observe it. If Pristina continues with similar moves, it will set us ten years back, to before the Brussels agreement," Petkovic emphasized.

He pointed out that the campaign for local elections in Kosovo and Metohija started on Wednesday.

He reiterated that the Office for Kosovo and Metohija is working every day to make Kosovo Serbs feel like they live in central Serbia.

"We are building 17 new buildings in Kosovska Mitrovica and a new university building," Petkovic added.

He reminded that in addition to the regular budget of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, the state provided an additional four billion dinars for capital projects and one-time assistance to the people in Kosovo in the amount of 100 and 200 euros, through a budget rebalance.

(Telegraf.rs)