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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Terror against Serbian population in Kosovo and Metohija makes its survival impossible

Belgrade/New York, 8 February 2024

President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic said this evening that the extraordinary session of the UN Security Council on the situation in Kosovo and Metohija was scheduled due to a situation that contradicts the Charter of the UN and relevant resolutions of the Security Council, and which could cause irreparable damage.

Speaking at the extraordinary session, which was scheduled at the request of Serbia, Vucic said that the immediate cause for the session was the move by the so-called Central Bank of Kosovo to ban the dinar from 1 February, which was the culmination of attacks on the Serbs and the non-Albanian population, since their survival on the territory of the southern Serbian province is directly dependent to a large extent on the inflow of dinar funds, primarily from the budget of the Republic of Serbia.

The data that the Republic of Serbia from this budget pays 60,946 salaries and pensions in Kosovo and Metohija, 2,430 scholarships for students and that it finances soup kitchens that meet the basic needs of around 2,000 socially most vulnerable citizens, show that this measure is primarily an attack on the Serbian population and that it makes the situation on the territory of Kosovo and Metohija difficult, he warned.

According to him, these figures alone clearly show that a huge number of inhabitants of Kosovo and Metohija directly or indirectly depend on the income in dinars from the budget of the Republic of Serbia.

As a result, as he said, it is obvious that the ban on dinar payments, i.e., the abolition of the dinar as a means of payment, directly deprives a huge number of residents of basic personal means of living.

The President also pointed out that 1,794 Serbian and non-Albanian farms in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija are directly dependent on dinar subsidies from the Republic of Serbia, while the survival of 922 economic entities owned by Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, which are directly dependent on dinar payments, is no longer operationally sustainable and possible.

Therefore, with the decision to ban dinar payment transactions, Pristina directly prevents the functioning of all social, health, educational, social, cultural and other institutions that enable Serbs to provide themselves and their families with basic food, receive education, receive medical treatment, buy medicines and do everything else which is today considered a normal life with a minimum of human dignity, Vucic underlined.

According to him, those institutions are the basis for the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities, whose competences and structure are clearly defined by the agreement on municipal principles signed in 2015, which precisely defines that Serbia has the right to finance the Community of Serb Municipalities.

The President said that Pristina is clearly creating unbearable conditions for the survival of Serbs, with systematic attacks and their open expulsion from Kosovo and Metohija.

If we bear in mind how Pristina treats the cultural heritage recognised and protected by UNESCO and which is under the constant protection of KFOR, it is clear how it treats the Serbian population too, he underlined.

In addition, constant pressure is exerted on returnees who are accused of false war crimes, while Albanians who are accused of clear ethnically motivated crimes against Serbs and their property are released.

He recalled that nine years before Kurti came to power, there were 669 ethnically motivated attacks, whereas since his arrival, that number has increased by 300 percent.

With the unilateral decision to abolish the dinar, Pristina resorted to the illegal use of the euro, by which it continued to create unbearable conditions for the life of Serbs, Vucic pointed out.

According to him, the euro is not a legal currency in Kosovo and Metohija, but it is treated as such, and the abolition of the dinar is aimed at the further expulsion of Serbs.

The President pointed out that Pristina conducted illegitimate elections in four municipalities with a majority Serb population, which were boycotted by the Serbs.

After that, the authorities in Pristina, with the help of special police forces, took over the local governments by force, and the Serbs who worked there until then were expelled and forbidden to come to work, Vucic reported.

Vucic appealed to the Security Council and international organisations that can influence the resolution of the crisis to take urgent and decisive measures to normalise the situation in Kosovo and Metohija, prevent further persecution of Serbs and create conditions for the re-establishment of a meaningful dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and Security Council resolutions.

Serbia, for its part, will implement all agreements and undertake all necessary measures in accordance with the aforementioned Charter and relevant resolutions of the Security Council, he said.

The President also called on the Security Council not to lose sight of the fact that Serbia sent a request to KFOR, in accordance with Resolution 1244 and the Military-Technical Agreement from Kumanovo, to enable the return of the agreed number of Serbian security personnel, who would help international forces in to protect the Serbian population.

According to him, although it is an international legal document and it clearly imposes an obligation on the commander of KFOR to enable such a return, it did not happen.

Vucic warned that the Kosovo Albanians are undertaking systematic attacks on the Serbian population and deliberately creating unbearable living conditions, persecuting the Serbs and preventing the physical survival of the Serbian population on the territory of Kosovo and Metohija.

It seems necessary to point out Serbia's policy, which is based on the Charter of the United Nations and, when it comes to the situation on the territory of Kosovo and Metohija, strict adherence to Security Council resolutions. We oppose all factors of instability and strive to be a solid pillar of stability in the Western Balkan region, the President said.

Vucic expressed the hope that after today's session, even the members of the UN Security Council that recognised the illegal unilaterally declared independence of the southern Serbian province, will understand that Pristina's latest moves are not just an attempt to consolidate something that a significant majority of the members of the United Nations, including Serbia, do not recognise as the state, but lead to endangerment and breach of peace.

Pristina's attempt at carrying through the abolition of dinar payments and removing the dinar as a means of payment is nothing more than another widespread and systematic attack on the Serbian population, a crime against humanity, he warned.

At the same time, the President thanked officials from the United States of America and the European Union and all traditional friends from the East for reacting to Pristina's latest moves with condemnations in their statements.

The recent theft by Pristina of money intended for pensions and social benefits for Serbs, as well as the arrest and criminal prosecution of people who transferred that money in a completely transparent and legal manner, as in all years during the past quarter of a century, irrefutably proves that statements are clearly not a sufficient tool to make Pristina immediately end the persecution of Serbs and turn away from attempts to destabilise the region, Vucic pointed out.

He stated that the solution to this crisis, as well as to all others that Pristina has produced in the previous period, can only be a clear order to immediately stop all the abovementioned measures that deliberately create unbearable living conditions and carry out the persecution of Serbs, as well as decisively discouraging Pristina from taking any unilateral steps in the future regarding the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija.