Petkovic: Kurti not interested in de-escalation in north of Kosovo-Metohija

BELGRADE  - The head of the Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija Petar Petkovic said on Tuesday that, by refusing to receive a civic initiative for a dismissal of illegitimate mayors, the Albin Kurti-led authorities in Pristina had clearly demonstrated they were not interested in de-escalation and normalisation in the four municipalities in the north of Kosovo-Metohija.

"Pristina's refusal to accept the citizens' request for a recall of the false mayors clearly shows that Kurti has been playing tricks all the time in order to deceive the EU as well as stop the process of a dismissal of illegal ethnic Albanian local authorities in the north," Petkovic said.

In a statement, Petkovic noted that de-escalation and normalisation of the situation in the four municipalities was one of the main demands of Belgrade as well as the EU but that Kurti intended to continue the terror against the Serbs.

"Therein lies the reason why ethnic Albanian municipal representatives in Kosovska Mitrovica, Leposavic, Zubin Potok and Zvecan today refused to receive an argumented civic initiative for a dismissal of the false and illegitimate mayors, submitted by citizens who strictly followed administrative instructions prepared by Pristina itself," Petkovic said.

He added that, for a long period of time, Pristina's police had searched and interrogated the petitioners in Zvecan earlier in the day to intimidate them and get them to give up on their demands.