Petkovic informs international missions, Sorensen of Pristina's latest unilateral move

BELGRADE - The director of the Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija Petar Petkovic has written to all relevant international missions in Kosovo-Metohija and the EU special envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue Peter Sorensen to inform them of the latest unilateral escalatory move by Pristina, which closed several Serbian institutions in Leposavic and Strpce on Wednesday.

In a letter seen by Tanjug, Petkovic called on them to urgently take the necessary steps to stop a spiral of violence against the Serbs and other non-Albanians in the province and ensure Pristina deescalates the situation on the ground.

Petkovic warned that the objective of such acts was "an established model of sabotaging the process of normalisation of relations that Pristina uses whenever it is unable to implement its other, favourite method - obstruction of dialogue through mere presence."

"Through insane actions such as these, the Pristina regime wants to distract public attention from a deep political crisis and cover up the fact that, in spite of all the pressure and manipulations, it is powerless to form a government, almost three months after holding elections."

He added that the closure of the offices of the Serbian pension and disability insurance fund, the health insurance service, the national employment service and the Kopaonik put enterprise in Leposavic and a raid on the offices of a utility company in Strpce and an expulsion of all employees was aimed at carrying out a policy of ethnically motivated persecution of Serbs and other non-Albanians, as well as at shutting down as many as 110 Serbian institutions by creating and maintaining unbearable living conditions.

He noted that the institutions attacked on Wednesday had more than 60 employees who had been in the service of more than 11,000 direct or indirect beneficiaries.

Petkovic noted that Pristina had made the move on the anniversary of the illegal election of ethnic Albanian mayors in the four Serb-majority municipalities in the north of Kosovo-Metohija, and added that resorting to violence and extremism, as well as the choice of a symbolic date, was a trademark of Albin Kurti's Self-Determination party.