Vucic: We have guarantees Pristina "security forces" cannot go to north Kosovo

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Friday there was nothing bad for Serbs in EU, US and NATO statements on the situation in Kosovo-Metohija and that, for the first time ever, there were guarantees Pristina's so-called security forces could not go to the north of the province not only without NATO consent, but also without consent of local Serbs and Serbia.

"Let me try to make a short recap of what we have gained and what we have lost. The papers, the joint statements by the EU, US, the European Commission, the US government and KFOR included two statements. One was a joint European-US statement and the other was a NATO statement. If we analyse what is bad for Serbs in both statements, there is nothing bad," Vucic said.

He said the statements in no way diminished the rights of Serbs or imposed any obligation on them.

"As for what we have been given in the NATO paper, for the first time, we have something that applies to all sides. For the first time, we have guarantees that what Pristina is referring to as its army, its security forces, cannot go to the north not only without NATO consent, but also without consent of local Serbs and Serbia," Vucic said.

"What is important in this document is that people will not be prosecuted for the barricades. No offences were committed by anyone at the barricades. There were no dead or wounded people there, so there is no reason for prosecution," Vucic said, adding that prosecution of Serb protesters would produce a completely opposite reaction and that no ethnic Albanian forces would ever be able to come to the north of the province again.