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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serbia respects Resolution 1244 and will do everything to preserve peace

Belgrade, 2 October 2023

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Milos Vucevic stated today, at an extraordinary press conference held together with the Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Army, General Milan Mojsilovic, that the Serbian Army has never violated UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and the Kumanovo Military-Technical Agreement.

Vucevic underlined that the Serbian Army has never entered the territory of Kosovo and Metohija, but that if it receives an order from the President of Serbia and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces to enter Kosovo and Metohija, as part of the territory of the Republic of Serbia, it will do so and fulfil all its tasks efficiently and successfully, but that in such a case it would first inform KFOR.

Serbia will do everything to prevent this from happening and to preserve peace, said the Deputy Prime Minister, reminding the public that our country has been warning the international community in the previous months and years, especially since the appointment of Albin Kurti as head of the temporary institutions of self-government in Pristina of the continuous pressure and physical persecution of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija.

According to him, the cooperation between the Ministry of Defence and KFOR is good and continuous, it runs in accordance with Resolution 1244 and the Kumanovo Agreement, it takes place on a daily basis and has been going on for years.

We cooperate at all levels - from the Chief of the General Staff to the Commission for the Implementation of the Military-Technical Agreement, said Vucevic.

He underlined that the Serbian Army believes that it is useful to ensure a greater presence of KFOR units in Kosovo and Metohija, above all in the areas where Serbs live, assessing that this would improve the security of our people in the province.

Vucevic rejected the accusations by Pristina authorities that Serbia trained and armed Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija.

Kurti uses as evidence the allegedly confiscated weapons and military equipment that were manufactured in Serbia, that is, by our military industry, said the Deputy Prime Minister.

He showed several photos in which the "Kosovo police" also carry weapons that were manufactured in Serbia and asked the Pristina authorities if, according to that logic, our country armed and trained the "Kosovo police" as well.

Without going into whose weapons and military equipment were shown by the "Kosovo police", the same weapons or military equipment can be found everywhere in the territory of the former Yugoslavia, and it is complete nonsense to claim that this is proof that Serbia is participating in something that someone called terrorist acts, stressed the Deputy Prime Minister.

According to him, terrorism is the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo and Metohija from Serbs, as well as daily arrests, shootings, detentions, harassment, searches of hospitals, kindergartens, schools, not allowing EULEX to participate in the actions they are authorised to participate in.

He mentioned that this morning he saw some, as he said, alleged exercises with Hummer vehicles from the Pasuljanske Livade training ground.

He underlined that the fact that someone releases thermal images from an obscure location with completely unidentified people and faces does not necessarily mean anything.

Our Hummers are armed with a 12.7 mm machine gun, for which everyone who is familiar with weapons and military equipment knows that there is no manoeuvre ammunition and it is not possible to carry out such exercises as shown in that video. On the other hand, the Albanian side, Pristina, has a 7.62 mm machine gun on the same Hummers for which there is manoeuvre ammunition. The question arises as to whose vehicle it is and who is operating it, Vucevic pointed out.

Mojsilovic stated that Milan Radoicic did not participate in the training at Pasuljanske Livade, did not fire a single bullet, nor a grenade, nor did he attend any activities.

On a couple of occasions, in previous years, he was invited to exercises, but he did not attend, and what he does on private property is not a matter of interest for the Serbian Army, explained the Chief of the General Staff.

He also mentioned the statement from Washington and Brussels, which refers to the excessive engagement of the Serbian Army in the administrative line area.

According to Mojsilovic, the aforementioned statement expresses a high level of concern regarding the quantity of equipment and personnel of the Serbian Army, which is engaged in the administrative line area and on the routes leading from the territory of Kosovo and Metohija to the central part of the Republic of Serbia.

Mojsilovic explained that, in accordance with the orders of the Commander-in-Chief of the Serbian Army, there has been no increase in combat readiness, but only an increased presence and engagement of units in the Ground Safety Zone and in the administrative line area.

After the outbreak of the security crisis, the Serbian Army, by following and implementing orders, increased its presence along the Ground Safety Zone. As early as 25 September, 8,350 members were engaged not only to secure the administrative line in the Ground Safety Zone, but also in the formations of units that locate and are deployed near the administrative line, he specified.

According to his assessment, from a military point of view, all comments on the size of the Serbian Army engaged in the last ten days are completely unnecessary.