Dacic: No one will be on Pristina's side if it defies entire world

BELGRADE - Serbian FM Ivica Dacic said on Thursday the Serbian leadership had reacted "sternly, swiftly and well" to complex developments in the north of Kosovo-Metohija.

He said restoring the situation from before the recent local elections held by Pristina in the north of the province was the only way of de-escalation.

Dacic welcomed US positions on the developments there and commended Washington's clear warning to Pristina's PM Albin Kurti that he must form a Community of Serb Municipalities.

"I think that both the US and the EU are angry because Kurti has made the situation complicated and caused clashes through unilateral moves," Dacic said, adding that Kurti's moves led from one escalation to another.

Pristina has become accustomed to being a darling of the West and has never faced a policy of threats, he said.

No one will be on Pristina's side if it defies the entire world, Dacic said.

"The situation is really very complex, above all, because, due to inaction, we have ended up in a position where we had incidents with Kfor, with which we have a professional relationship," Dacic said.

Ironically, the incidents involved Italian Kfor troops - to whom the Serbs are grateful for protecting their churches and monasteries - as well as Hungarian troops, Dacic said.

He added that the Kfor command was to blame for this as it should have prevented Pristina's special forces from coming to the north of the province without the Serbs' consent and from storming local municipal buildings.

Our leadership reacted "sternly, swiftly and well," Dacic said.

"We have no ambition or goal to fight a war against Kfor or cause destabilisation. Our goal is to have peace and for the Serbs to succeed in the fight to survive and remain in Kosovo-Metohija and, in that regard, we will not allow a pogrom of Serbs," he said.

"We have demonstrated that we are ready and serious about protecting the people in case there are no other options, but we hope it will not come to that," Dacic said.