“Ready to save the world.” Serbia will not send troops to Kosovo

At a joint press conference in Brussels, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic discussed the escalation in northern Kosovo in early August. Then, against the background of the ban on Serbian documents and car numbers, the army retreated to the border between the countries, barricades were erected in many cities, and fires were also recorded.

Stoltenberg declaration NATO’s readiness to take steps to ensure security and maintain freedom of movement in Kosovo. In turn, Vucic, reportedHe said that Serbia would not send troops to Kosovo and that there were statements about preparations for a military conflict to discredit Belgrade’s actions.

“Our KFOR forces continue to operate in accordance with UN instructions. “If there is a security threat, then KFOR is ready to intervene, I will take all necessary measures to guarantee the security and stability of the people of Kosovo, freedom of movement,” he said.

Still, Stoltenberg noted that the alliance sees it as the only way to resolve the dialogue and prevent escalation. He announced that the organization plans to remain a neutral party and will not be involved in the conflict. NATO continues to monitor the situation closely, he said.

“It will be proportionate and reflect the needs and challenges we may face. But the fact that we have about 4,000 troops in Kosovo demonstrates our strong participation and helps to defuse the situation,” he said.

In response, Vučić denied the existence of military operation plans in Kosovo at a press conference and explained the danger of using the current political situation against Belgrade. He also asked the North Atlantic Alliance to carefully examine the situation in Kosovo and indicate where and when Serb forces allegedly crossed the administrative line or border.

“We are listening to statements about Serbian military intervention in some organizations or countries in the region, according to them it should have happened five months, four months, three months, two months ago, but it has not happened so far. So they lied and nobody said anything about this narrative,” he said. .

Journalists also asked Vučić if he had plans to establish a Russian military base in Serbia. The President dismissed this possibility and noted that Serbia is a military-neutral state and only wants to “preserve the peace, defend its own heaven and earth, its people and its population” and will do so in the future.

“Serbia does not need any foreign military bases,” he said.

Prior to that, the Russian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Belgrade, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, said that the establishment of a Russian military base in Serbia is the sovereign issue of Belgrade and Moscow. He emphasized that this issue is also important for Russia as part of the continuation of military-technical cooperation between the two countries.

On 12 August, Vučić announced that the Kosovo authorities will continue their actions until they capture the Serb-populated north of the autonomous province. Belgrade, in its own words, is “ready to keep the peace at almost any cost” until they “start killing” the representatives of the Serbian people.

black hole danger

The statements of Stoltenberg and Vučić were interpreted by Konstantin Kosachev, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council. He recalled that NATO’s intervention in the situation with Yugoslavia led to the death of civilians and the appearance of a “black hole” in the shape of Kosovo on the European map, RIA Novosti reported.

“NATO forces intervened in the situation already in 1999, violating all possible and impossible norms of international law. The result was the violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Yugoslavia at that time, the death of more than 2.5 thousand civilians, the subsequent suffering of people who suffered the effects of depleted uranium warheads, ”the statement said.

The result of the NATO intervention was the emergence of a “black hole” on the map of Europe – in Kosovo “only the trade of human organs in the world, gross violations of the rights of the Serb population in the region and other clearly known”. criminal manifestations of semi-sovereignty,” he said.

delayed war

From 1 August 2022, Kosovo authorities prohibited Serb citizens living in Kosovo from presenting Serbian documents and ordered them to use a temporary identity card during their visit to the unrecognized republic. The Serbs also had to buy the Kosovo license plates. Against the background of the protests, the Kosovo authorities postponed the innovations to September 1, 2022.

On the evening of July 31, the first shots were fired on the Kosovo-Serbia border. An air raid warning was heard in Kosovska Mitrovica. Kosovo police have closed the administrative crossing point “Brnjak” to Serbia.

Vučić later stated that the Kosovo Army was planning to attack Serbia. According to him, detachments of the Kosovo police have already gone to Yarinya and Brnjak. There were also reports that the Serbian army had entered Kosovo, but the Belgrade Defense Ministry denied this information. Following this, Kosovo police informed their officers that they had been shot and that they were not dead or injured.

Vučić then went to the Serbian General Staff and addressed the nation. He said he wanted the international community to influence the Kosovo leadership and expressed hope for a softening in the republic.