Serbia Slams Kosovo For Banning Official From Entering As Violation Of Treaties

The Serbian government on Friday slammed the self-proclaimed Kosovo Republic's decision to ban the director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, from entering its territory as a violation of the previously reached agreements

BELGRADE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th April, 2021) The Serbian government on Friday slammed the self-proclaimed Kosovo Republic's decision to ban the director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, from entering its territory as a violation of the previously reached agreements.

Petkovic planned to visit the autonomous region on Friday and Saturday to meet with local Serbs, but the visit was canceled by the Kosovar authorities citing the dire COVID-19 situation.

"We are talking about a gross violation of the agreements reached in Brussels, especially those that regulate freedom of movement, as well as a clear signal to Belgrade that there is no open dialogue and future-oriented politics, on the contrary they defend a position that eliminates any thought of reaching a treaty and compromise," the Office for Kosovo and Metohija said.

The office added that even eight years after the signing of the first Brussels agreement between Belgrade and Pristina, the latter had not implemented a single obligation to constitute the community of Serbian municipalities.

Albanians in Kosovo broke away from Serbia after conducting a campaign of terror against Serbs and other nationalities living there, and after NATO forces undertook a 78-day military campaign in 1999 against what was then SR Yugoslavia, consisting of Serbia and Montenegro.

Pristina unilaterally proclaimed independence from Belgrade on February 17, 2008. Since then, Kosovo has been recognized by 100 UN member states. Serbia, as well as Russia, China, and some other states, have rejected Kosovar independence.