Vucic: Kurti the only one to blame, wants bloodshed across region

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday evening Pristina's PM Albin Kurti was the only one to blame for the latest developments in Kosovo-Metohija and had only one desire - to cause conflict in the province and lead the whole region to bloodshed.

Kurti wants a "big conflict between the Serbs and NATO, while he, the sole culprit for everything that is going on, would wash his hands like Pilate and say it has nothing to do with him," Vucic told an extraordinary press conference at the Presidency of Serbia.

Vucic said 52 Serbs had been injured and that three of them - Dragisa Galjak, Dragisa Milovic and Caslav Sofronijevic - had suffered the most serious injuries during clashes in Zvecan earlier in the afternoon and that 41 Kfor troops had been injured as well.

He said Galjak was in intensive care after doctors had fought for his life.

"We believe he is certain to survive, barring complications," he said.

He said Serbs Nebojsa Lezovic, Rados Petrovic, Srecko Vitkovic and Dusan Obrenovic had been arrested and that negotiations were underway with Kfor about their release.

"These are massive and grave consequences and the sole culprit and the only person responsible for them is Albin Kurti, which everyone knows - I was warning of that last night and the night before that and three, four and five days ago, but no one wanted to hear that," Vucic said.

Despite guarantees it had provided, Kfor did not protect the Serbs and failed to prevent an illegal takeover of municipalities in the north of Kosovo-Metohija, Vucic said.

Giving a timeline of events since the morning, Vucic said Serbs in the north of Kosovo-Metohija had gathered outside the Zubin Potok, Zvecan and Leposavic municipal buildings at 7 am this morning to "voice their disgruntlement over a raid of Serbian buildings by Kurti's illegal occupiers because, despite guarantees, Kfor soldiers did not protect the Serbs and did not prevent an illegal and violent takeover of the municipalities and violence against the Serbs," Vucic said, noting that Kfor had provided the guarantees "on several occasions."

Vucic said Kfor had let the false mayors of the municipalities enter the buildings to protect them against the Serbs, instead of doing the opposite.

"The opposite thing they should have done would have been in line with statements by the Quint, the EU, the US and everyone who says Kurti's move of sending the so-called ethnic Albanian mayors to those buildings is illegal," Vucic said.

He called on the Quint states to reason with Kurti.

"If they do not do that, I am afraid it will be too late. We will be trying to preserve peace. The Serbs must know they have a responsible leadership and that it will do its best to preserve peace, but we will not allow expulsions, pogroms or killings of our people in Kosovo-Metohija," Vucic said.