Vucevic: If Vucic gives the order, Serbian Army will react, red lines won't move

Defense Minister Milos Vucevic has told RTS that citizens of Serbia should not be afraid, that Belgrade is ready for an agreement, but pointed out that this does not mean moving the "red lines."

His impression, he added, is that the Army is calm, not euphoric, ready to carry out any task.

"There is no euphoria, no tavern songs, there's complete concentration. You see courage and determination in their eyes to protect our people. No one wants to fight a war and no one wishes for conflicts, but the Serbian Army is ready, brave and determined to protect our country. I hope that no one will be checking whether this is true," said the minister of defense.

Milos Vucevic told RTS last night President Aleksandar Vucic left late in the day to visit the soldiers in the Raska Garrison and to meet there with representatives of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija, with legitimate representatives of our people in Kosovo and Kosovo.

"It was very dynamic. Those talks between President Vucic and representatives of the Serbs with Kosovo and Metohija are friendly, brotherly, but they are complex, because the circumstances are also very challenging. The president informed them about all the things that Serbia is doing to preserve peace and stability and above all Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija. The representatives of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija informed him about the situation on the ground and what made them have to go to for that type of peaceful and democratic protest, like the barricades," said Vucevic.

He said that in parallel with that, President Vucic had an open line of communication with Quint (US, France, Italy, Germany, UK) representatives, where he conveyed Serbia's stances that a political agreement is sought, but that it will not be to humiliate Serbs and allow for the further pogrom of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija.

"The red line is that there is no new pogrom, (operations) Flash and Storm. If the international community wants this to return to the format of dialogue and political agreement, it must stop with a series of irrational and unilateral moves by Albin Kurti's administration. Serbs did not take to the streets because they're bored, but because of a series of moves over a long period of time that show that the government in Pristina really does not see Kosovo as a province where Serbs should live," said Vucevic.

Citizens of Serbia should not be afraid

Vucic added that President Vucic firmly presented Serbia's arguments and reasons for concern for Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija.

"Citizens of Serbia should not be afraid. We are concerned about the situation. On the other hand, we have a man who does not make rational moves. A whole series of moves, from the persecution of Serbs in Strpce, attacks on Serbs in Kosovo under the guise of fighting the grey economy, the problem with license plates, election commissions, banning Serbs from participating in elections and referendums, arrests... We are forgetting some other people who have been detained for a long time or convicted. The fact that Kurti went for denouncing agreements reached in the previous ten years," noted Vucevic.

He remarked that he cannot say whether we are close to a solution.

"Serbia is ready for an agreement, but that does not mean moving the red lines. It is up to us to find a political solution, and at the same time, the Army and the police are ready to protect Serbia and all its citizens," stressed Vucevic.

An army ready to perform any task

His impression, he added, is that the Army is calm, not euphoric, and ready to carry out any task.

"There is no euphoria, no tavern songs, there's complete concentration. You see courage and determination in their eyes to protect our people. No one wants to fight a war and no one wishes for conflicts, but the Serbian Army is ready, brave and determined to protect our country. I hope that no one will be checking whether this is true," said the minister of defense.

He added that the Army and the police are not only on the administrative line (between central Serbia and Kosovo and Metohija), they are in also in various other locations.

"I can't reveal all the positions, but when you sit with them you feel safer. We have everything we need to protect our country, not only in that area. There are also special brigades, the Air Force, the artillery...," said Vucevic.

According to him, if the president gives the order, the Army will react.

"Let's try to fight politically for Kosovo and Metohija, for the survival and life of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, so that we don't get into the scenario that was written for us in the 1990s and become the ideal culprit. We must not fall into that cliché. Serbia is leading Serbian politics, we are not an isolated island, but that does not mean that Serbia is a punching bag. Wisdom and a rational approach, without being ashamed of emotions, but they must not prevail in the decision-making process," said Vucevic.

(Telegraf.rs)