Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said on Wednesday that he raised concerns over Kosovo authorities’ planned implementation of new measures from March 15 that he described as “escalatory and deeply discriminatory,” warning they threaten the rights and security of ethnic Serbs in the region.
Vučić, speaking after talks with Peter Sørensen, the European Union’s special representative for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, emphasized the need for the international community to take the issues seriously and ensure respect for the rights of the Serbian population in Kosovo and Metohija.
He highlighted concerns over Kosovo joining a regional military alliance, saying it increases tensions and endangers local Serbs. Vučić called for urgent steps to establish the Community of Serbian Municipalities (ZSO), a body long awaited by Serbs in Kosovo.
“These decisions directly threaten the survival of the Serbian people in Kosovo,” Vučić said in an Instagram post. He stressed that avoiding actions leading to further escalation is in the interest of all parties and that the EU should mediate to ensure full implementation of obligations to maintain peace and stability.
Petar Petković, director of Serbia’s Office for Kosovo and Metohija, also met with Sørensen and warned that the planned measures, including laws on foreigners and vehicle registration, would directly impact more than 10,000 Serbs living and working in Kosovo.
“These discriminatory rules threaten basic human and civil rights, including freedom of movement, the right to work, family life, healthcare, and education,” Petković said. “Any attempt to revoke these rights would amount to direct persecution and administrative ethnic cleansing of Serbs in Kosovo and undermine Serbian-run health and education institutions.”
Petković urged the immediate resumption of talks on the draft statute of the Community of Serbian Municipalities, citing the First Brussels Agreement and General Principles as the legal foundation for Serbian institutions in Kosovo.
He added that Belgrade is prepared to seek all sustainable and feasible solutions within the EU-facilitated dialogue to preserve peace and stability, warning that unilateral and escalatory moves by Pristina would heighten tensions and risk further crises in the region.