Berlin: Ambassador Janković speaks for "Berliner Zeitung" regarding the situation in Kosovo

10. Jan 2023.
The Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia in Germany, Ms Snežana Janković, gave an interview to "Berliner Zeitung" regarding the situation in Kosovo and Metohija and the wounding of Serbian children near Štrpce.

In the article published in this daily, the ambassador pointed out that the wounding of Serbs, an eleven-year-old child and a twenty-one-year-old young man, by an Albanian, a member of the so-called Kosovo Security Forces, on Orthodox Christmas Eve, confirmed that Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija live in fear, insecurity and face constant threats.

It is also a sign that the international community must react urgently in order to stop anti-Serb actions and terror against the Serbian population in Kosovo and Metohija.

Emphasising that the absolute highest priority for Serbia is the preservation of peace and stability in order to continue its economic growth and development and attract new investments, she condemned the dangerous unilateral moves by Pristina, which lead to the escalation of tensions, which, along with all the other problems faced by Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, and with the refusal of Aljbin Kurti to establish the Union of Serbian Municipalities and fulfill Pristina's obligation from the Brussels Agreement signed back in 2013, led to the exit of Serbs from temporary institutions.

The ambassador mentioned that the United States of America were asking for Pristina to finally join the establishment of the Union of Serbian Municipalities, but that unfortunately we were not optimistic about the situation in Kosovo and Metohija. "Therefore, it is extremely important that the EU increases the pressure on Pristina in order to fulfill this obligation," the ambassador emphasised.

When asked by a journalist about the European Union's request that Serbia join the sanctions against Russia, the ambassador replied that Serbia clearly condemned Russia's attack on Ukraine.

"Serbia knows what an attack on a sovereign country contrary to international law means, because it itself was a victim of such an attack in 1999, as well as sanctions lasting for ten years," the ambassador pointed out.

Serbia did not join the sanctions due to the protection of its own national interests and high energy dependence on Russia, as well as for moral reasons and its own experience that sanctions, the legitimacy of which must be confirmed in the United Nations, mostly affect ordinary citizens, she stressed out.