Petkovic meets with German ambassador, MFA official

BELGRADE - The head of the Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija Petar Petkovic met with German Ambassador to Belgrade Anke Konrad and deputy head of the German MFA's department for the Western Balkans Matthias Conrad on Monday to point out the extremely difficult position of Kosovo-Metohija Serbs due to Albin Kurti's unlawful and unilateral moves and to inform them of the most recent round of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue in Brussels.

Petkovic said that, on a daily basis, the Kosovo-Metohija Serbs faced physical and institutional violence and pressure by the Kurti regime, which he noted was doing everything to expel the Serbs and create impossible living conditions for them, the Office for Kosovo-Metohija said in a statement.

He said an announcement of so-called laws on foreigners and vehicles was a testimony to this and that, for that reason, the international community must take concrete measures to protect the rights of the Serbs, their right to work, movement and family life, which he noted were all jeopardised by such moves by Pristina.

He informed the German officials of the course of the most recent round of the Brussels dialogue, as part of which a joint commission on missing persons held its first meeting, with progress also made on compliance with a declaration on missing persons.

Petkovic especially noted that Belgrade insisted on an urgent establishment of a Community of Serb Municipalities - for which the Serbs have been waiting for almost 13 years now - and expected concrete moves towards it, but that there was no political will whatsoever in Pristina to respect and implement signed agreements.

As a responsible party, Belgrade will continue to participate in dialogue with a view to normalising relations, and in the best faith that it is only through dialogue that sustainable solutions can be found for improving the lives of people living in Kosovo-Metohija, Petkovic was also quoted as saying.