Serbian Defense Minister Accuses Germany Of Supplying Albanian 'Terrorists' With Weapons

Serbian Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin called on Wednesday Germany's alleged plans for supplying arms to the partially recognized republic of Kosovo a violation of international law and arming of Albanian "terrorists."

BELGRADE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd July, 2020) Serbian Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin called on Wednesday Germany's alleged plans for supplying arms to the partially recognized republic of Kosovo a violation of international law and arming of Albanian "terrorists."

The Serbian Vecernje Novosti newspaper has recently reported, citing sources, that the Kosovo authorities in Pristina have already paid Germany 170 million Euros ($197 million) for the supply of weapons as well as training Kosovo Security Forces (KSF) personnel, and were now negotiating the purchase of Heckler & Koch Gewehr 36 assault rifles and Leopard 2 tanks. The delivery of a new batch of weapons and military equipment to Pristina has been reportedly approved by 60 percent of the German Security Council headed by Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"Arming the military which, according to Resolution 1244 must not exist, is a violation of international law, trampling on German law, but it is also a message to Serbia. ... To give weapons to Shiptar [Albanian] terrorists whose leaders have been indicted for war crimes in the Hague, and to hope for peace and stability in the region is either hypocrisy or madness," Vulin said, as cited by the country's Defense Ministry.

The minister added that when Germany shows its might, the world should worry about its future.

The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1244 in 1999 to authorize an international civil and military presence in what was then the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia through the deployment of an UN-flagged contingent to Kosovo.

Kosovo unilaterally proclaimed independence from Serbia in February 2008 and has since been seeking to gain recognition. Serbia and Russia are among the countries which have not recognized Kosovo, while part of those which did, have subsequently withdrawn their recognition.

In 2011, Serbia, under the pressure of Brussels, began negotiations on the normalization of relations with Kosovar Albanians under the EU mediation. The dialogue got stalled in November 2018, when Kosovo imposed 100 percent duties on Serbian imports.

Earlier in July, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovar Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti held a video summit, mediated by France and Germany, where they asserted a readiness to resume talks on the normalization of relations. Nevertheless, in an interview on national television after the summit, Vucic said that Kosovo's demands were "senseless."