Special envoys of five countries arrived in Belgrade to meet with the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vui.

Source: B92 Friday, January 20, 2023 | 18:28

Tanjug/AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic

After the meeting, they addressed the public.

“Today, we had a very difficult conversation,” Vui said at the beginning of his speech.

“An open and serious discussion. What we agree on is that a frozen conflict is not a solution, and that when you have a frozen conflict, it is a matter of time when irresponsible individuals will unfreeze it and endanger peace and stability in the Balkans ,” he said.

Vui said that as the president of Serbia today, he was unequivocally faced with the problems and challenges that would be placed before our country if we did not agree with the proposed plan.

“Under these and such conditions, we asked the four, plus Miroslav Lajak, to help all of us overcome the turbulence we are facing in Kosovo, because we believe that it is high time to form the CSM, which was not only promised but also signed 10 years ago. It is a matter of urgency, since only after that, conversation is possible, any including kind of normalization of the situation,” he added.

He pointed out that Western diplomats welcomed Serbia’s progress on the European path.

Vui pointed out that there are difficult days and decisions ahead of us.

“There are no nice or sweet talks here, and I can say that I did my best to protect and guard Serbia, which I will continue to do,” concluded President Vui.

Following Vucic’s meeting with EU and US representatives, EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue Miroslav Lajcak said: “We had an intense, difficult but also an open talk. President Aleksandar Vucic demonstrated a responsible approach and the will to make difficult decisions in the interest of peace and Serbia’s European prospects”.

As a reminder, the EU special envoy for dialogue Miroslav Lajak, the US envoy for the Western Balkans Gabriel Escobar, the advisor for foreign policy and security of the German chancellor Jens Plettner, the advisor for foreign policy of the French President Emmanuel Bonne and the advisor for foreign policy and security of the Prime Minister of Italy Francesco Talò were present at the meeting. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic discussed with them further steps in the process of normalizing relations with Pristina.

Serbia’s president called on NATO on Sunday to “do their job” in Kosovo or he says Serbia itself will move to protect its minority in the breakaway province.

The fiery televised address to his nation by President Aleksandar Vucic followed the collapse of political talks between Serbian and Kosovo leaders earlier this week mediated by the European Union in Brussels.

Serbia, along with its allies Russia and China, has refused to recognize Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence. A NATO-led intervention in 1999 ended the war between Serbian forces and separatists in Kosovo and stopped Belgrade’s bloody crackdown against Kosovo’s majority Albanians.

The EU has overseen years of unsuccessful talks to normalize their ties, saying that’s one of the main preconditions for Kosovo and Serbia’s eventual membership in the 27-nation bloc.

“We have nowhere to go; we are cornered,” Vucic said. “We will save our people from persecution and pogroms, if NATO does not want to do it.”

He also claimed that Kosovo Albanian “gangs” need to be stopped from crossing into northern Kosovo, where most of the Kosovo Serbs live. He offered no proof for the claim.

There are widespread fears in the West that Russia could encourage its ally Serbia into an armed intervention in northern Kosovo that would further destabilize the Balkans and shift at least some world and NATO attention from Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Nearly 4,000 NATO-led peacekeepers have been stationed in Kosovo following the 1998-99 war and any armed intervention there by Serbia or Russia would mean a major escalation of a simmering conflict in Europe.

Following the collapse of the EU-mediated talks, NATO peacekeeping troops in Kosovo have been deployed on main roads in its north, saying they are ready to protect the freedom of movement for all sides.

Tensions between Serbia and Kosovo soared anew last month when the Kosovo government led by Prime Minister Albin Kurti declared that Serbian identity documents and vehicle license plates would no longer be valid in Kosovo’s territory. Serbia has been implementing the same measures for Kosovo citizens crossing into Serbia for the past 10 years.

Minority Serbs in Kosovo reacted with anger to the proposed changes, putting up roadblocks, sounding air raid sirens and firing guns into the air and in the direction of Kosovo police officers. No one was injured.

Under apparent pressure from the West, Kurti postponed the implementation of the measure for a month to Sept. 1, when more trouble is expected if a compromise is not reached by then.

Vucic said Serbia will “work hard” to reach a “compromise solution in the next 10 days” and accused the Kosovo leadership of “only being interested in abolishing any trace of the Serbian state in Kosovo.”

Vucic also claimed, again without proof, that Kosovo’s government wanted “the final removal of the Serbian people from Kosovo” — something that has been repeatedly denied by Kosovo officials.

Kosovo Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla on Sunday visited Kosovo police units stationed near the northern border with Serbia, saying that he hopes there will be no trouble when the new measures begin on Sept.1.

“Our common interest here is that this land is ours and we will not give it up at any price,” he said.

In the run-up to the European Day to Combat Human Trafficking on October 18, the civil society organizations Child Rights Center and Atina launched the digital prevention platform for children and young people entitled “How to protect yourself from human trafficking”. The platform was created as part of the awareness campaign on child trafficking in Serbia, which was implemented through a grant from the joint action of the European Union and the Council of Europe “Preventing and combating human trafficking in Serbia”.

In Serbia, 24 out of 57 identified victims of human trafficking in 2020 were children. In the period from January to September 2021, 9 out of 32 identified victims of human trafficking were children. Due to the high number of victims of child trafficking, the platform was developed with the aim of informing children and young people about what human trafficking is, how to identify risks and potential victims, how to protect yourself from human traffickers, how to help and report when they do suspect instances.

The platform refers to the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings – a European treaty that provides clear and detailed guidelines for combating this phenomenon and a set of rights for victims of trafficking in human beings. There is also a knowledge and a child-friendly quiz.

Korov actor Çun Lajçi reacted to the death of 18-year-old MO, from Ferizaj, who was buried yesterday.

The actor has written some verses about her death, which you can read below.

His reaction:

Mother, should I be silent

(Marigonë O)

You were born without a backpack and you kissed me

I am told something about life and shame

I have that knife but not my hand when I fell

you did not protect me from dh.unë and for dh.unë

You are a woman, I said, young bride, be patient

the word nd.rydhe as pain in the heart

My father told me what an honor my mother was and what a shame

but they did not tell what love is

I gave up the ghost in front of a half-man

who did not know what a woman is

Nane

You taught me everything

but how to protect myself from an unmarried man

you never scolded me.