Support of the Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija to the Government and Prime Minister Vučić ahead of the upcoming resumption of the dialogue in Brussels

Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija of the Government of Serbia, Marko Đurić said today that Belgrade representatives in the talks with Pristina will travel to Brussels next week in order to push for the creation of the Community of Serbian municipalities (CSM) in the southern Serbian province.

Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija told the press that the bulk of things concerning the establishment of the CSM have been agreed.

"There are two or three relatively important things to agree. I do not want to go into specifics about these," Đurić said.

Asked whether Belgrade's representatives expect new conditioning in the upcoming meeting in Brussels, Đurić said that no other agreements can condition the establishment of the CSM and that the political price for the establishment of the Community has already been paid.

"We compromised and made our share of concessions even when it was not easy. Everyone should be aware that if we intend to reach an agreement on other issues, no other agreement can be set as a condition for the establishment of the CSM – which is our priority," Đurić said.

According to Đurić, Priština has an obligation to fulfil what was agreed, but the responsibility also lies with the international community, which is the guarantor of the implementation of the Brussels Agreement.

When asked what the main obstacle to reaching an agreement on the formation of the CSM could be, Đurić pointed to the fact that a part of the political audience in Priština institutions and the Kosovo Albanian political audience is trying to make a bogeyman out of the CSM, which is unreasonable.

"The opposition of certain politicians in Priština to the establishment of the CSM follows in the wake of the inherited ethnic policy towards the Serbs in general, and the rest are following the general trend of opposition. However, the truth is that the CSM is in the best interest of both the Serbs and Kosovo Albanians, as it will allow Serbs to institutionally communicate with the Priština institutions, be part of the system in the province and exercise their rights through the CSM," Đurić said.

He stressed that the CSM is not directed against anyone, but is an instrument and a factor of stability and convergence of communities in Kosovo and Metohija.

"All those who are taking part in the negotiations in the Belgrade team perceive the dialogue as a tool for bringing together the Serbs and Albanians from Kosovo and Metohija, and not as a means of producing more unrest and instability," Đurić said.

He stressed that the CSM does not want to regulate the lives of Kosovo Albanians and it is not an expression of aspirations to partition our southern province.

"Why should we share something that is ours in its entirety? The CSM is an expression of the aspirations of the Serbian people to enjoy the level of rights which applies not only in Kosovo and Metohija but is also a standard in Europe, as well as a cornerstone of the survival of our people," Đurić explained.

Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija said that the negotiations in Brussels are focusing on concrete things in the matter of the CSM and principles for the establishment of the CSM.

"We are on a good path to achieve for the CSM to be directly financed from Belgrade, which means that it will operate in that respect as part of our system. Also, we are close to achieving for those who work in the CSM to have the status that will enable them to carry out what they are authorized by the CSM," said Đurić.

The CSM should also be able to carry out commercial activities and have an adequate income, but also represent the body that will be able to decide on the positions that the Serbs will occupy in the institutions and organisations in the province.

"Our goal is not to disturb the system in the province, but to give political and economic power to the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija and enable them to survive," said Đurić.

Asked whether it is possible to lose support of the international community if no agreement is reached in Brussels, Đurić said that it would not happen should Belgrade continue to play a constructive role.

Đurić explained that in today's meeting the Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija supported the Government and the Head of the Team for Dialogue in Brussels, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić, in the ongoing struggle for the establishment of the CSM, economic empowerment of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija, the ability to manage their own political affairs and assets, and all that is of importance for the existence of our people in the southern province.

Đurić stressed that the struggle of the Serbian people for the creation of the CSM is the joint fight of Belgrade and the Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija and that today's meeting is an indication that the authorities in Belgrade consult with the representatives of the Serbs from Kosovo before every important event, seeking to operate jointly on all key issues of national importance and national interest.

"We discussed ways to improve the economic position of our people in Kosovo and Metohija, who have been very poor for over a decade, as well as manners of advancing the capacities of the local self-governments to be able to absorb the assistance and solidarity that Serbia is ready to deliver," Đurić said.

He stressed that this would require much more knowledge and that this role lies with the University of Kosovska Mitrovica.

Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister Branimir Stojanović said that he hoped that the upcoming meeting in Brussels would result in reaching an agreement and reiterated that the establishment of the CSM is not directed against anyone, but enables unified political action to the Serbs.

"What we have today, a package to ensure protection of the rights of the Serbs, must be further enhanced and framed and the CSM will be just that, a bridge towards better relations between the Serbs and Albanians in the Balkans. By building a better life for the Serbs, we intend to build a better life for everyone," said Stojanović.

Ljubomir Marić, Coordinator of the Management Team for the Establishment of the CSM, said that he expects to be able to announce as early as at the next press conference that an agreement has been reached and that the Management Team can go ahead and establish the CSM.

"And to once and for all resolve the issue of CSM, and enable the Serbian people to have their home and their future, turn to the economy and industrial development and create new jobs, because the future depends on young people and economic development," Marić underlined.

The President of the Štrpce municipality, Bratislav Nikolić thanked the Serbian Government and Director Đurić for the meeting held with the representatives of the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, and added that it demonstrated seriousness of the Government of Serbia in addressing the issue of the CSM establishment.

At the end of the conference, Đurić told the press that a baby boy has been born in the maternity unit of the General Hospital in Pasjan, which means that the maternity unit has officially become operational.