13.10.2024.
Statement
Regarding the statements made by the Prime Minister of Provisional Institutions of Self-Government in Priština, Albin Kurti, about the alleged movement of the Serbian Armed Forces’ troops in the vicinity of the administrative line with the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, we would like to emphasize that it is the continuation of a disinformation campaign against the Serbian Armed Forces and the security forces of the Republic of Serbia.
The social media post shows members of the Serbian Armed Forces in the Ground Safety Zone performing regular tasks of guarding the administrative line and supervising the Ground Safety Zone, in accordance with the Military Technical and all other signed agreements.
The alleged security forces that Kurti refers to in the media, who came into contact with members of the Serbian Armed Forces at a specified location, were in fact timber smugglers who were illegally cutting down trees in central Serbia, which has become a lucrative illegal business. Yesterday, the administrative line security undertook activities to stop the illegal transport of timber to the territory of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. The timber smugglers fled to the territory of Kosovo and Metohija and the movable assets found at the scene that they had used for their criminal activity were handed over to members of the Ministry of the Interior.
The spread of falsehoods and misinformation, which have been exposed as barefaced lies many times before, is part of a wider campaign led by the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government in Priština, with the aim of generating tension, deceiving the public, creating an unbearable living environment for Kosovo-Metohija Serbs, and avoiding to fulfil the obligations it has accepted.
There is no place for the so-called Kosovo Police or the so-called Kosovo Security Force in guarding the administrative line with the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, since the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 and the Military Technical Agreement recognize no other entities but international civil and security presences in the Province and the security forces of the Republic of Serbia. In light of this fact, statements that the situation in the Ground Safety Zone and along the administrative line is closely monitored by the so-called Kosovo authorities for any activities by the forces of the Republic of Serbia, have no basis in reality and show a complete disregard for the agreements concluded.
Through timely and through preparations, proper organization of forces and implementation of adequate tactics and procedures, the Serbian Armed Forces guard the administrative line, exercise control, prevent illegal administrative line crossings, combats extremist activity and organized crime, including, among other things, illegal logging in the Ground Safety Zone and will continue to be a factor of peace and stability, which cannot be said of the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government in Priština.
