27.10.2022.
National Security Council meeting held
President of the Republic and Supreme Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces Aleksandar Vučić chaired a National Security Council meeting which analyzed the situation in Kosovo and Metohija. The meeting was held at the Palace of Serbia today.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Miloš Vučević, Deputy Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff, Lieutenant General Petar Cvetković, and other senior officers of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces.According to President Vučić, who gave an address after the meeting, the Pristina regime, which is threatening to continue the vehicle re-registration campaign, poses a threat to the stability, peace and survival of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija.
- This morning we heard the demands from the legitimate representatives of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija, who informed us of their needs, of everything they face in Kosovo and Metohija just before the expiration of the ultimatum that the Pristina regime presented the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija with, especially those living in the north of the province, with regard to the confiscation of cars and registration plates, i.e. the plates identifying the towns in Kosovo and Metohija, issued by the Serbian state authorities - said President Vučić.
According to him, so far 18 people, only three of whom from the north of Kosovo, have accepted to change their car registration plates and do what Kurti and the Pristina regime asked of them.
- In line with that, Pristina's threats to continue the activity which is supposed to show their firmness and strength, seriously threaten the stability, peace, and survival of our people in Kosovo and Metohija - emphasized Vučić.
The president added that they had listened to the representatives of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija today in Belgrade, and told them that they always stood with them, even in the most difficult of times.
- We are there for our people, and we will stand by our people in the future - said President Vučić.
The European Union and the Quint are fine with everything that Pristina is doing, the president said, but, allegedly, they do not think that this is the right moment.
- Several days ago, we received a demarche from the representatives of the Quint countries and the EU. Point 2 says that we should understand that Kosovo's car registration plate campaign is legitimate and in accordance with the agreement reached within the framework of the dialogue, but what poses a problem is the time and methods which are the only causes for concern - the president said. He added that he had informed the representatives of the Quint and the EU that this was not true and that they were deceiving the public.- These are barefaced lies. They do not have the right to do this under any agreement - said Vučić and explained why this was being done. It is necessary, he explained, to show that Pristina is fundamentally good, but that this is perhaps not the best time, and that it is necessary that all Serbs have RKS plates, and not some others, because they do not support Kosovo’s independence.
According to President Aleksandar Vučić, Belgrade has always insisted on KS plates for Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, which are status-neutral, but Pristina has unilaterally abolished them contrary to all previous agreements and now requires RKS plates of independent Kosovo.
- There has been talk (in documents) about KS or RKS plates since 2016. Why the KS plates? Because they are status-neutral. We have insisted from the beginning that Serbs should have status-neutral plates - said Vučić.
On the other hand, he noted, RKS plates are not status-neutral.- Today we tell them, no problem, we don't need to have KM plates, give the Serbs KS plates, but they say that they have cancelled KS plates and that only RKS plates of independent Kosovo, which are not status-neutral, can be used - said Vučić.
Vučić says that Pristina made a decision on September 17, 2020, which was signed by Kosovo's Minister of Internal Affairs Agim Veliu, two years before the discussion on this issue was supposed to continue.
- It says that administrative instruction no. 02/2018 on the registration of vehicles with KS plates is being cancelled. The decision comes into force on the day of signing. This was all contrary to the agreements on the freedom of movement we had. No one reacted, of course. Yet, they are explaining to us that Pristina is entitled to do so, but it will be asked to postpone it a bit - said Vučić.
Vučić said that the representatives of Kosovo Serbs had told him that they would put up resistance to the Pristina authorities in a peaceful manner through democratic means.
He stated that the plan of the Pristina authorities was to allow KM plates to leave the territory of Kosovo and Metohija and enter the territory of central Serbia, but not to let them return to the territory of Kosovo and Metohija via Jarinje and Brnjak border crossings.
- And not to let them enter with those plates ever again. However, they did not understand what that would cause. They thought it was an easy decision because there would be no problems on the territory of Kosovo and the world would not hold it against them. I don't know whether the world will hold it against them, but they will certainly face the democratic resistance from the Serbian people, and Serbia will not allow its people to be persecuted and killed - said Vučić and promised that there would be no repetition of March 2004, i.e. the persecution and pogrom of the Serbs, nor any similar actions against the Serbian people.
Vučić said that they had also discussed the French-German plan, supported by the U.S., and that they would send a reply within 24 hours.
- We are ready to continue talks and negotiations, but there are things that we are not willing to accept and cannot accept - said Vučić.
According to him, the state will do everything in its power to preserve peace and stability, but he believes that Pristina and its supporters will be wise enough not to go against the peaceful Serbian people.- We have agreed to do everything in our power to preserve peace and stability, to do everything we can to de-escalate the situation, but that we will stand by our Serbian people if they are attacked – said Vučić and added that the Serbian people want to live freely on the territory that belongs to them, in their country, Serbia, in accordance with the UN Charter, Resolution 1244 and the International Legal Order.
SOURCE: TANJUG
