Serbian President Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107 stated on 18 June that he will not participate in the meeting with Kosovo\u2019s Prime Minister Albin Kurti, called by Brussel.<\/p>\n
\u201cI consider it meaningless to speak with someone who is not willing to speak,\u201d Vu\u010di\u0107 said to journalists in Belgrade.<\/p>\n
Vu\u010di\u0107 clarified that he will decide whether to \u201ctechnically attend that meeting\u201d, adding that it will be a strategic decision he will inform the public about.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut speaking with Kurti, no,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy invited Kurti and Vu\u010di\u0107 to a meeting scheduled for the following week.<\/p>\n
The Prime Minister of Kosovo stated that he has not yet decided whether he will attend the Brussel meeting. On Saturday, 17 June, he stated to the media in Pristina that his team will respond to Borrell\u2019s invitation at the beginning of the next week.<\/p>\n
Vu\u010di\u0107 also stated that the meeting with the Prime Minister of Kosovo was conditional on fulfilling Serbia\u2019s demands: the withdrawal of Albanian mayors from the municipalities of Zve\u010dan, Leposavi\u0107, and Zubin Potok, the withdrawal of the Kosovo Police from northern Kosovo, and the release of arrested Serbs.<\/p>\n
Vu\u010di\u0107 expressed that Serbia attempted, as he said, to maintain peace and progress in every way.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, no matter how much we tried to be a serious partner of Western powers, we are on the European path, I honestly say, they have never seen us in that way. If we did not respect every request, we would be at fault, even though we are not at fault,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The Serbian President stated that his country will remain on the European path as long as he leads Serbia. However, he assessed that during this period, Serbia will not become a member of the EU.<\/p>\n
The invitation from Brussel for the meeting between the two leaders came after an escalation of tensions in northern Kosovo. Tensions in this predominantly Serbian-populated area began on 26 May when the Kosovo Police assisted newly elected Albanian mayors in entering municipal buildings, despite the opposition of the local Serbs.<\/p>\n
Tensions peaked on 29 May when local Serbs clashed with NATO\u2019s peacekeeping troops in Kosovo, KFOR. Dozens of people from both sides were injured in the clashes.<\/p>\n
Vu\u010di\u0107 requests examination by EULEX regarding case of Kosovo policemen<\/strong><\/p>\n The Serbian leader also stated that Belgrade has requested a polygraph examination from the EU mission for the Rule of Law in Kosovo (EULEX) regarding the case of the three arrested Kosovo policemen. Vu\u010di\u0107 specified that the members of Serbia\u2019s Ministry of Internal Affairs, who made the arrest, are willing to undergo such an examination in order to determine the location where the Kosovo police officers were arrested.<\/p>\n Serbia claims that the three Kosovo policemen were arrested \u201cdeep\u201d within Serbian territory, while Kosovo says they were abducted on 14 June within the territory of Kosovo.<\/p>\n However, Vu\u010di\u0107 stated that EULEX is \u201cnot interested\u201d in Belgrade\u2019s request.<\/p>\n On 16 June, NATO\u2019s peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, KFOR, stated that \u201cbased on the available data, it remains unclear where the officials of the Kosovo Police were at the time of the arrest\u201d. \u201cWe are not at war to exchange prisoners. If someone is guilty, it will be decided by our authorities,\u201d Vu\u010di\u0107 said in Belgrade.<\/p>\n The Serbian leader strongly criticized EULEX, the mission that monitors cases of arrested Serbs in Kosovo and the treatment they receive from authorities. Vu\u010di\u0107 stated that Serbia possesses one of EULEX\u2019s reports, which, according to him, \u201csays nothing\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe only thing you are monitoring is how Serbs are being expelled,\u201d Vu\u010di\u0107 said.<\/p>\n The United States, United Kingdom, and other Western states have called on Belgrade to immediately release the Kosovo policemen.<\/p>\n Regarding the three Kosovo policemen, a court in Kraljevo has ordered a pre-trial detention of 30 days. On 17 June, the U.S. Department of State urged Serbia to immediately release the Kosovo policemen, who, according to Washington, are being held in pre-trial detention under unfounded charges.<\/p>\n The President of Serbia announced that Serbs in Kosovo will take \u201cactive decisions\u201d in the future, without specifying what it refers to.<\/p>\n He stated that on Vidovdan, an Orthodox holiday celebrated on 28 June, Serbs will \u201cpeacefully take steps on their path to freedom\u201d.<\/p>\n On 17 June, Serbian daily newspaper \u201cBlic\u201d reported that Serbs in Kosovo will independently start forming the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority. Citing sources, the newspaper reported that a Serbian assembly is being planned for the future, in which the Association will be declared, and its bodies will be established.<\/p>\n This news has not been confirmed by official Belgrade.<\/p>\n Regarding the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority in Kosovo, Pristina and Belgrade reached two agreements (in 2013 and 2015) within the framework of the dialogue for the normalization of relations mediated by the EU.<\/p>\n The Constitutional Court of Kosovo stated in 2015 that the Agreement on the Principles of the Association was not fully in line with the state\u2019s highest legal act, but the agreement can be harmonized through legislative acts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Serbian President Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107 stated on 18 June that he will not participate in the meeting with Kosovo\u2019s Prime Minister Albin Kurti, called by Brussel. \u201cI consider it meaningless to speak with someone who is not willing to speak,\u201d Vu\u010di\u0107 said to journalists in Belgrade. Vu\u010di\u0107 clarified that he will decide whether to \u201ctechnically attend […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":55598,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[250],"tags":[422,865,2345,308,2774,1929,1098,150,243,151,383,2203,301,787],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n