Selaković: We expect voting in the April elections to be enabled in Kosovo and Metohija

25. Jan 2022.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia Nikola Selaković confers with the Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo and Metohija (OMIK) Michael Davenport.

Minister Selaković underlined that Serbia supported the work of OMIK, the most visible status-neutral presence in Kosovo and Metohija, which acts in accordance with the mandate based on UN Security Council Resolution 1244, adding that it was crucial for the OSCE to maintain such a neutral approach.

The Head of Serbian diplomacy said that Serbia upheld the work and activities of OMIK in the field of protection of the rights of non-Albanian communities in Kosovo and Metohija, but also pointed out that our interest was that those be further intensified.

Minister Selaković stated that the issue of the return of expelled Serbs and other non-Albanians to Kosovo and Metohija was especially important, reminding that in 22 years of the international presence in Kosovo and Metohija only 1.9% of internally displaced persons have achieved a sustainable return. He also noted that the engagement of OMIK in cases of human rights violations of returnees as well as regular reporting on these cases was extremely important.

The Minister warned that incidents and provocations, such as the case of Dragica Gasic or those that took place in the north of Kosovo in September and October last year, have the potential to destabilize the fragile security situation in Kosovo and Metohija, expressing concern over 136 ethnically motivated incidents against Serbs, their property and the property of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo and Metohija that were recorded since the beginning of last year.

As regards the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, Selaković underlined that our side was committed to it and that we were convinced that this was the only way to reach a sustainable solution, but that, on the other hand, Pristina representatives were not ready to implement previously undertaken obligations and that such unilateral approach makes dialogue much more difficult.

In that context, Minister Selaković also referred to the unacceptable position of Pristina concerning the holding a referendum on amendments to the Constitution of Serbia in Kosovo and Metohija, pointing out that Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija were once again deprived of their basic human rights.

The Minister said that we expected that, with the assistance of the OSCE, the citizens of Serbia in Kosovo and Metohija be enabled to vote in the presidential and parliamentary elections in April.