Serbia will change attitude toward international community in Kosovo: Foreign Minister

BELGRADE, Serbia

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said Saturday his country will change its attitude toward representatives of the international community in Kosovo.

“There will be certain changes in our behavior in relation to this situation when it comes to the relationship with the representatives of the international community, who are in Kosovo and Metohija,” said Dacic.

Dacic said there would be no problem if NATO’s Kosovo Force did its part but unilateral moves by Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti should not be tolerated.

The renegotiation of the Brussels Agreement is a red line along with Kosovo’s entry into the UN and the security of Serbs in Kosovo, he said.

“As long as Kurti is there, there will be no diplomacy, as long as Kurti is there, there will be no plan, neither Franco-German nor any other. I am sure, and people from the West know that too. He can talk and lie all he wants, but he will never accept that plan because it does not say that Serbia should recognize Kosovo. He is now looking for a way to avoid the situation of discussing it at all,” said Dacic.

Tensions between Serbia and Kosovo rose again after explosions and sirens were heard in cities in northern Kosovo on Tuesday ahead of early elections on Dec. 18 in four municipalities in Kosovo.

Forces affiliated with The European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) had increased their presence on the Iberian Bridge connecting the southern and northern sides of the city of Mitrovica.

Officials with the Kosovo Central Election Commission (KQZ) went to their offices in the north, accompanied by police but were unable to enter.

Tensions between Serbia and Kosovo flared last month when ethnic Serbs in Kosovo withdrew from all central and local institutions to protest the decision to replace car license plates issued by Serbian authorities with those from Kosovo.

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said Friday that her country will demand a return of its armed personnel to Kosovo under UN Resolution 1244.

The EU expressed concern about the security situation in northern Kosovo.

Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, with most UN member states including the US, UK, France, Germany and Türkiye recognizing it as a separate autonomous country from its neighbor.

But Serbia continues to insist that Kosovo is its territory.

• Ambassador of the Republic of Kosovo to Ankara
• Armed Forces of Serbia
• Brussels Agreement
• Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic
• Serbian and Bosnian Women