Serbia must stand firm

cc. In the predominantly Serb-populated north of Kosovo, there was clear tension on the Serbia-Kosovo border on 31 July; ethnic Serbs set up blockades and gunshots were heard. In the following, Živadin Jovanović, former Foreign Minister of Yugoslavia (1998-2000), comments on the events.

Formally it is because Pristina wants to impose abolition of Serbian personal identity documents and car registration plates issued in the past by Serbian authorities to its citizens in the Province. Pristina sent heavily armed forces at the administrative line crossings to impose these measures by force. Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija reacted yesterday by blocking main roads and administrative crossings placing heavy trucks and machinery and by massive protests mainly in the North of the Province where live majority of 130,000 Serbs remaining in the Province. Immediately before the ethnic cleansing 1999-2003 there were about 300,000 Serbs in the Province.
  Serbia top officials reacted the situation provoked by illegitimate and illegal Pristina measures is the worst in decades, that the aim is to finalize ethnic cleansing of all Serbs and that Serbia will protect its nationals from being victims of yet another pogrom like the “Storm” in Croatia 1995. Serbia demanded the West powers to exercise their influence on Pristina in order to avoid the worse.
  US ambassador in Pristina said that US government has proposed implementation of the Pristina measures should be postponed for 30 days adding that this does not mean that measures should be abolished.
  My understanding is that US support measures of Pristina simply because they are the masters of NATO 1999 aggression, of illegal secession proclaimed 2008 and subsequent recognition by member countries of EU and NATO, as well as by some client governments. What is going on now is just part of concerted pressures of US/NATO/EU against Serbia to implement sanctions against Russia, cut strategic partnership with Russia and China, recognize illegal, criminal secession of the Province of Kosovo and Metohija and accept membership in NATO. All this is part of the US/NATO expansion to the East and escalation against Russia and China. Serbia’s resistance to join antirussian sanctions and diplomatic successes, particularly in Arab and African regions, further improvement of cooperation with China may have played a role in USA/NATO/EU strengthening pressuresand blackmailing Serbia.
  Serbia has to remain defending sovereignty, territorial integrity, military neutrality and independent foreign policy. The status of the Province of Kosovo and Metohija can be resolved only within international Law and UN SC resolution 1244. Serbia shall not surrender or submit to geopolitics of those who are trying to compensate losses in Ukraine, or to strengthen negotiation positions before inevitable global negotiations on the new European and global post Ukraine World Order.  •