Kosovo-Serbia Deal 'Not Even Close', Vucic Says

On his two-day visit to Kosovo, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic denied the two countries were near a solution to their dispute, and was prevented from visiting a Serb-majority village.

Kosovo Albanians gathered a road barricade in village of Vojtesh Kosovo, September 9, 2018. Photo: EPA-EFE/VALDRIN XHEMAJ

“Do we have any draft solutions in Brussels? We do not, we are not even close to it,” President Aleksandar Vucic said in a speech before thousands of Serbs in the Serb-run northern half of the divided Kosovo town of Mitrovica on Sunday.

After Kosovo war veterans blocked roads leading to the village of Banje, south of the Ibar River, the Kosovo government cancelled Vucic’s visit to the village, but caused no problems about him holding the rally in North Mitrovica.

Vucic underlined that his idea was to keep the peace and try to “build bridges toward Albanians”. He added that Serbs should “strive for an agreement [with Kosovo Albanians], even when we know it is almost impossible, because everything else leads us into an abyss and a catastrophe”.

Kosovar Albanians burn tires at a road barricade in the village of Vojtesh, Kosovo, 09 September 2018. Photo: EPA-EFE/VALDRIN XHEMAJ

Vucic’s visit to Kosovo followed Friday’s EU-facilitated meetings in Brussels, where Vucic decided not to meet his Kosovo counterpart, Hashim Thaci.

The former province declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Serbia has never recognised it.

Serbian journalists ‘assaulted’

Serbian journalists from Insajder and Deutsche Welle reported on Sunday that they were attacked while trying to report from barricades set up by protesting Kosovo war veterans near the village of Banje.

An Insajder journalist said that one Kosovo protester tried to pull her out of the car, while journalists from Deutsche Welle said that they were forced to remove Serbian plates on the car, because protesters didn’t want to allow them to continue their drive.

Serbian journalists’ associations condemned the attacks.

However, international pressure is growing on both countries to solve the decade-long dispute, if they are to assure themselves EU membership.

Vucic started his Kosovo trip by visiting Gazivode Lake on Saturday, where he stated that it is time for Serbs and Albanians to try to talk with more respect to each other.

Vucic on Sunday planned a visit to the village of Banje, south of the Ibar River, but 200 Kosovo war veterans who opposed the visit to the majority-Serb village put up barricades at the entrance of the village.

The Kosovo government decided then to cancel the visit to Banje due to “security reasons”.

President Thaci criticised the protests, saying they did not contribute to peace and stability in the region.

But he said that as president of Kosovo, he understood the reaction.

“This shows that wounds of pain and war are still fresh,” Thaci wrote on Facebook.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic addresses supporters that gathered in the city center during his visit in the northern, Serb-dominated part of Mitrovica, Kosovo, 09 September 2018. Photo: EPA-EFE/DJORDJE SAVIC

The speaker of Kosovo’s parliament and the head of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, Kadri Veseli, said he had been against Vucic’s visit to Gazivode Lake, but added that it was allowed after Kosovo’s international partners insisted.

“However, I consider that is good that his [Vucic’s] visit happened because once again it has been proved that Serbia’s leaders are continuing the tradition of [former Serbian leader] Slobodan Milosevic,” Veseli wrote on Facebook.

Bekim Jashari, the mayor of Skenderaj/ Srbica, and the nephew of the KLA commander, Adem Jashari, who was killed alongside 59 members of his extended family by Serbian forces in Prekaz in 1998, attended the protest.

“We have over 15,000 killed [during the war in Kosovo], while 1,648 are still missing,” Jashari told the media.

“It is inexcusable for the Serbian President to pass through Drenica without any apology and acting as if nothing happened,” Jashari stated.

Citizens gather in the city centre for a rally in support of visiting Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in the northern, Serb-dominated part of Mitrovica, Kosovo, 09 September 2018. Photo: EPA-EFE/DJORDJE SAVIC

But the head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, Sem Fabrizi, told FoNet news agency that the EU “regrets the cancellation of Vucic’s visit to Banje” and added that dedication to the maintenance of peace and security on both sides was required.

Serbian’s Prime Minister, Ana Brnabic, said in her reaction that the incidents “show all the complexity of the situation in Kosovo”, accusing Kosovo Albanians of not respecting deals that have been agreed.

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