Vucic: I discussed situation in Kosovo-Metohija with Blinken

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Friday he had had a "long and by no means easy" phone call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken about the situation in Kosovo-Metohija.

"There are several things we agreed on and several things we did not agree on. We agreed on the need for de-escalation and a significantly greater Kfor role, and Serbia will always and certainly support that greater, more significant Kfor role in Kosovo-Metohija," Vucic said, noting that Belgrade would even like Kfor to have an "exclusive" role in the north of Kosovo-Metohija.

"I denied untruths about our forces being on full combat alert because I have not signed that, and it is not true," Vucic said.

He said they had disagreed on the nature of what had happened in Kosovo-Metohija, especially when it comes to the so-called Kosovo's sovereignty.

"We will speak about that clearly and I do not want to hide anything. I do not care what anyone in the world thinks about that (last weekend's Banjska clashes) because we have evidence that at least one and possibly two people were literally executed in cold blood, and that they were not killed in battle, but wounded and alive - they surrendered and then they were executed in cold blood, from short range," Vucic said.

He said he had raised the issue of why Eulex presence in the north of Kosovo-Metohija had been rejected.

Vucic also said Blinken had told him Serbia could face measures in case it acted inappropriately.

"I said: 'You are a big country, a big power, it is up to you to do what you think you must, I am absolutely against that and I think it is very bad, but there are things we need to stick to - above all, the truth,'" Vucic added.