Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced late Wednesday the withdrawal of the barricades on the Kosovo Serb border as of Thursday after holding a meeting with the Serb minority in Kosovo.
According to the Serbian leader, the citizens of Serbia in Kovovo have told him that «they do not want to harm their country» and have explained that they will remove the barricades installed after the rise of tensions, although the distrust towards the Kosovar authorities «has not disappeared», reported Politika.
Vucic has detailed that the barricades cannot be removed in two hours and that the process will take between 24 and 48 hours, transferring the threats that they would be installed again «forever» by the Serbian minority in Kosovo if Pristina continues the «terror against the Serbian population».
Likewise, the Kosovo Serbs have asked the Serbian government for guarantees that they will never recognize the «independence» of Kosovo «in any form», according to the newspaper.
Meanwhile, Vucic has stressed that the withdrawal of the barricades «has nothing to do with the return of the institutions», and that the Serbs in Kosovo will defend him in «any decision he takes» if the authorities in Pristina stop them.
Serbia asked NATO in mid-December to deploy 1,000 Serbian security personnel in Kosovo, an unprecedented request, on the basis of a UN resolution; however, Vucic said he expected a negative response from the North Atlantic Alliance.
NATO’s mission in Kosovo, KFOR, which has these security powers, has already increased its presence in the area, especially in the Jarinje Pass. To date, five EU member states, including Spain, do not recognize the independence of the former Serbian province.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
