Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić firmly stated on September 8 that there would be no negotiations concerning Serbs in northern Kosovo surrendering “buildings and properties to those to whom they never belonged”.
This declaration came on the day when the deadline lapsed for four Serbian institutions to vacate a municipal building in North Mitrovica.
“We have demonstrated goodwill and engaged in discussions with representatives of Serbs to encourage a dialogue regarding the elections in the north,” Vučić asserted.
He mentioned that Serbia’s delegation is scheduled to travel to Brussels next Wednesday or Thursday for talks with Kosovo’s delegation within the framework of the European Union-mediated dialogue aimed at normalizing relations.
“It is our responsibility. We have always regarded dialogue as the sole means of addressing issues, and these issues are only accumulating,” Vučić emphasized.
Kosovo authorities had previously issued a warning that by September 8, four Serbian institutions must relocate from a property situated in the Bosniak neighborhood, asserting its ownership by the Municipality of North Mitrovica.
For some time, the Government of Serbia’s Office for Kosovo, the Directorate of the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund, the Administrative District of Kosovo’s Mitrovica, and the Social Welfare Center have been utilizing this municipal facility.
An action aimed at removing these Serbian institutions from the municipal property in North Mitrovica was originally slated for August 25 but was postponed for a two-week period.
Beforehand, the municipal inspectorate had dispatched notices to these institutions, instructing them to vacate the premises due to their failure to produce documents or contracts substantiating their authorization to occupy the facility.
The Office for Kosovo and the Serb List, the primary political party representing Serbs in Kosovo, with the backing of official Belgrade, have recently expressed opposition to the expulsion of Serbian institutions from the municipal property in North Mitrovica.
Authorities in North Mitrovica contend that the property rightfully belongs to them and must be relinquished due to unspecified “construction activities”. Nonetheless, they did not provide specific details about the nature of these construction activities in a previous statement to Radio Free Europe.
North Mitrovica, located in the northern region of Kosovo, predominantly houses Serb inhabitants. Since the April elections, which were boycotted by the Serbian population, this municipality, along with three other northern municipalities, has been governed by Albanian mayors.
Tensions flared in late May when newly elected Albanian mayors entered municipal buildings in northern Kosovo, with assistance from the Kosovo Police.
As part of their efforts to de-escalate tensions, Kosovo authorities have introduced a legal framework that would facilitate the removal of mayors through a petition.
