Prime Minister Albin Kurti has requested the return of the land security zone along the border with Serbia, after threats with army and artillery that this country made during the last two years. In addition, he demanded that Serbia stop the benefits it receives from the EU, the USA and the United Kingdom and that the West sanction all those who protect and cooperate with terrorists, as well as the persons involved in blacklist
On Saturday, Prime Minister Albin Kurti asked NATO to return the terrestrial security zone to a perimeter of 5 kilometers along the border of Kosovo with Serbia. He justified the request for the return of the measure removed 23 years ago with the activities of Serbia for the approach of the army and artillery to the border with Kosovo during the last two years.
“Since within two years, Serbia has brought its army to our border four times, the ground safety zone that NATO calls ‘ground safety zone’, 5 kilometers wide around the border of Kosovo with Serbia, must be restored. It was removed in August 2001, when Zoran Gjindjiqi was the prime minister, who was killed, and this is being misused by the regime of Aleksandar Vucic”, said Prime Minister Kurti, while addressing the meeting of the General Council of the Vetëvendosje Movement, a party which lead it.
Kurti emphasized that the current leadership in Serbia has remained aggressive, just like during the war. The NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, KFOR, is responsible for security on the border between Kosovo and Serbia. Meanwhile, the rest of the border line is supervised by the Kosovo Police. The prime minister accused Serbia of not wanting progress in the normalization of relations with Kosovo, he mentioned the non-implementation of the Brussels Agreement and last year’s attack in Banjska, which he said had the main aim of starting a wide and long conflict. .
Kurti asked the West to stop aid to Serbia and to sanction all those who protect and cooperate with terrorists and persons who are on the black list of the USA.
“Therefore, to the democratic West, in particular the European Union, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, we call on Serbia to condition the current benefits, not only the future ones from the EU, the USA and the United Kingdom . Those who cooperate with blacklisted persons in the Balkans should be sanctioned by the USA, the EU and the United Kingdom. Those who are members of the organizations ‘Civil Defence’ and ‘North Brigade’. Otherwise, the criminals who walk free, otherwise the blacklists, are not effective”, said Kurti.
The organizations “Civil Defense” and “Northern Brigade” were declared terrorist organizations by the Government of Kosovo last June.
Kurti said that the black list should give “results through the sanctioning of all those who communicate and cooperate with them”. Millan Radoicic, who took responsibility for organizing the armed attack on the Kosovo Police in September of last year, is also on the blacklist.
In Banjska, on September 24, 2023, a group of armed Serbs killed a Kosovo policeman. During the exchange of fire, three Serbian attackers were also killed. Prime Minister Kurti has defended the actions of the Kosovo authorities in the north of the country, which the international community has described as unilateral and uncoordinated.
“Those who complain about our unilateral actions are complaining why we declared independence. The rule of law for the sovereign state is like breathing. Breathing is unilateral, except for first aid perhaps. But Kosovo may have needed first aid in the spring of 1999, but it is an independent sovereign state. The attacks they make on us are proof of our success. Their attempt for a time machine that takes them back before 1999, before 2008, or before 2021 is an expression of the revisionist character of the regime in Serbia and this finds support in the aggressive constitution of Serbia. It must change. All our commitments are not simply based on the will of the people and the law, but also on democratic values”, said Kurti.
The prime minister has also expressed the position that the actions in the north – including the closure of institutions that have operated on the basis of the Serbian system, the ban on the use of the Serbian dinar for cash payments and other actions – are within the scope of sovereignty and law enforcement.
The Prime Minister has also reiterated the request that the Basic Agreement reached in Brussels be signed, that the letter of the former Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Bërnabiq, sent to 27 EU countries, with which she contests the territorial integrity of Kosovo, be withdrawn.
