From the archives: Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti speaks during a press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (unseen) at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, 04 May 2022. Kurti and Scholz met for bilateral talks. EPA-EFE/FILIP SINGER

Serbia Deployed Anti-Aircraft Systems Near Kosovo Border, Kosovo PM Warns

The Prime Minister of Kosovo has raised concerns about security threats from Serbia and Russia, calling for the international community to respond.

Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti stated that Serbia has deployed anti-aircraft systems near the border with Kosovo, posing a threat to the country’s security.

Despite international pressure, Kurti added that Serbia has not fully withdrawn all troops and artillery from the vicinity of Kosovo’s territory.

“Serbia continues to threaten the security of the Republic of Kosovo with the forward operating bases of the Armed Forces of Serbia along the border with our country,” Kurti wrote on Facebook on Sunday.

Kurti’s statement comes a day before the scheduled visit to Kosovo by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

NATO’s head is expected to meet with President Vjosa Osmani and PM Albin Kurti in Prishtina on Monday.

The Kosovar PM also announced a rally in Serbia on November 10, led by the perpetrator of the terrorist attack in Banjska, north of Kosovo, on September 24, Milan Radoicic.

Kurti has warned about the preparation of other possible attacks in Kosovo by Radoicic’s group.

“In Raska, Serbia, the paramilitary and terrorist reorganization of Milan Radoicic and his group, with the instructions and support of the Serbian state, is taking place. On Friday, November 10, he led a meeting with about 40 Serbian politicians and officials of illegal municipalities from Kosovo,” said Kurti.

The terrorist attack operation on Kosovo Police was led by the former deputy leader of the Serbian List party, Milan Radoicic.

He admitted to organizing the terrorist attack in Banjska, taking care of logistics and arming, and is currently at liberty in Serbia.

Additionally, Radoicic has tendered his resignation from the position of Vice President of Lista Srpska, the Belgrade-backed Serbian party in Kosovo, a move confirmed by his attorney, Goran Petronijevic.

Kurti claims that in the meeting held at the house of culture in Raska, Serbian government officials were also present, as well as the leaders of the Serbian List and its deputies in the Assembly of Kosovo.

“There was a request for mobilization for voting for the party-state in Serbia, SNS, in the December 17 elections. Those who are on the payroll have been conditioned with them, while others have been offered jobs for a period of 3 and 6 months.”

Parliamentary elections in Serbia will be held on December 17 of this year.

Kurti added that the leaders of the terrorist group, instead of facing justice in Kosovo, “continue preparations for other attacks on Kosovo and collection of votes by blackmailing Kosovo Serbs.”

Kurti also mentioned Russia’s intentions for destabilization.

“The threat from Russia and Serbia to stability, peace, and regional security is being noticed more and more. Russia aims to light a fire of crisis in the yard of the EU, to defocus NATO, while Serbia fulfills its territorial ambitions towards its neighbors according to the ‘Serbian World’ project of Vulini and Vucic,” he added.

Last week, the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, whose country has been at war since the launch of Russian attacks for more than a year and a half, said that Russia is trying to provoke a war in the Balkans.

On October 19th, the European Parliament approved a resolution condemning the terrorist attack on Kosovo police that occurred in Banjska village on September 24. The resolution calls for sanctions against Serbia if its involvement is proven, and removal of sanctions for Kosovo.

Resolutions regarding the terrorist attack in Banjska, as well as requests for a response from the West, have been approved by the Assembly of Kosovo and Albania.

Almost two months after the terrorist attack in Banjska, North Kosovo, the European Union refrained from imposing sanctions on Serbia, even as the sanctions against Kosovo, imposed prior to the attack, remain in place.

According to Kurti, the lack of sanctions against Serbia increases the level of threat in the Western Balkans.

“KFOR, EULEX, and the EU should come out with a public and official report where they attribute the act of aggression and the crime of terrorism to Serbia, and where the reorganization of Radoicic’s group is condemned,” PM called.

20/11/2023 - 15:25

20 November 2023 - 15:25

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