Vucic: Pressure over Kosovo to continue, Serbia will know how to deal with it

VERONA - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday evening he expected the pressure on Serbia over the Kosovo-Metohija issue to continue, but noted that Serbia would know how to deal with it.

"It is a game, a performance, but Serbia will know how to deal with it," Vucic told Happy TV in Verona in response to a question whether he expected a diplomatic offensive as part of a German-French proposal to continue.

He also noted that Serbia wanted normalisation and better relations with ethnic Albanians in Kosovo-Metohija.

"That is difficult when someone's only desire is to humiliate Serbia... but you will not see that happening any time soon," Vucic said.

When asked if the chief negotiators of Belgrade and Pristina would discuss implementation of agreements at a Brussels meeting on Tuesday, Vucic responded that would definitely be the case and that the head of the Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija Petar Petkovic would travel to Brussels for that purpose.

"It is important that we demonstrate openness and seriousness while protecting our vital national and state interests, and he knows how to do that," Vucic said.

Commenting on tensions and fresh incidents in Kosovo-Metohija, Vucic said they were provocations aimed at preventing the establishment of a Community of Serb Municipalities.

"They (Pristina) are provoking because they want conflict," Vucic said, adding that Pristina's PM Albin Kurti "wants to be Zelenskyy, and wants me to be 'little Putin.'"

Many absurd untruths have been said about the Ukraine conflict, including that it will end soon, Vucic said.

For that reason, it is important that we act responsibly and rationally, he added.

"I am proud of the fact that Serbia has endured more than a year with its positions of an independent policy, and we will do our best to continue that policy," Vucic noted.