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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Investigation regarding arrest of Kosovo Special Forces in territory of Serbia

Belgrade, 14 June 2023

President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic stated tonight, regarding the current situation in Kosovo and Metohija, that we are at a crossroads – whether we will continue to have peace or not, and that there is no longer any doubt that the prime minister of the temporary self-government institutions in Pristina, Albin Kurti, wants to provoke a war at any cost.

Appearing on Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) news programme, Vucic said that we have "crossed the Rubicon" and that the return to normalcy will be very difficult, but that Serbia will do everything in its power to make it happen.

He reiterated that no soldier of the Serbian Armed Forces, nor any police officer, crossed the administrative line during the arrest of the three members of the Kosovo police.

They were arrested 1.8 km away from the administrative line, in the area between Orahovo and Gnjilica, the President stated, emphasising that members of the Kosovo police have no business being in the Tresava-Batnjik area without the approval of KFOR, especially not with long firearms.

According to him, Serbia has evidence that KFOR was not informed about any of this, and tomorrow, representatives of the Quint countries within the European Union will be presented with this evidence again.

The President explained that the Serbian military is mostly stationed in the vicinity of Rudnica, which is 5.1 km away by air from the location where the Kosovo special forces were arrested, but the actual distance is 19.8 km due to the need to travel through Raska because of the Ibar River, which cuts through Gnjilica and Rudnica.

Our military was essentially 20 km away from the incident. KFOR can easily verify this, and anyone can see it clearly, Vucic emphasised.

He said that an investigation is being conducted regarding the arrest of armed Kosovo special forces, and stressed that Belgrade is ready to provide all evidence and has no problem with everyone showing satellite images to clearly determine whether Serbian units crossed the administrative line or not.

Vucic emphasised that the arrested Kosovo special forces were not mistreated, that Serbia is a serious state, and that it treated them in a civilised manner, while preserving their dignity in every way during the arrest.

Currently, the police and prosecutors are working with them. That is their job. You cannot enter the territory of a sovereign country with such weapons. An investigation is underway. Serbia is ready to provide "all the data and all the evidence," the President emphasised.

He reiterated that Serbian units did not approach the administrative line by even a millimeter, which, as he emphasised, indicates that someone wants to provoke conflicts at any cost.