Kosovo’s PM seeking to unleash ‘war’ on Serbia — Serbian government official

Prime Minister of the unrecognized republic of Kosovo Albin Kurti is obviously seeking to unleash a "war" on Serbia, Petar Petkovic, director of the Serbian government’s office for Kosovo and Metohija, said on Friday.

"By their actions, Albin Kurti and Pristina are seeking to oust the Serbian people from Kosovo and Metohija and actually start a war. Everything Kurti is doing he is doing because he has ‘the wind at his back,’ because he has support. And how can we build the peace that we have always insisted on, when Kurti and those who support him want to jeopardize this peace and provoke war?" he said.

"Today, the occupation of northern Kosovo and Metohija by Kurti and his occupational gauleiter Erden Antic, who has taken the office of the so-called mayor of the North Kosovska Mitrovica municipality, has officially started," Petkovic said.

Igor Simic, deputy leader of the biggest Serbian party, Serb List, which represents the interests of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, said earlier on Friday that the Serbs will use "all means" to stand up to the Kurti regime on June 1 if the rights of Serbs continue to be infringed upon and persecution continues. According to Simic, the inauguration of Erden Antic, a Kosovo Albanian, as head of the North Mitrovica municipality, elected on April 23 despite the boycott of the Serbian majority in northern Kosovo and Metohija, means occupation of the region.

Elections to local self-governments in four municipalities - Zvecan, Zubin Potok, Leposavic and North Mitrovica - in northern Kosovo and Metohija were held on April 23. The elections were boycotted by the Serb List party because of Pristina’s non-fulfilment of its commitments. As a result, the voter turnout was a mere 3.47%, with 1,566 Albanians and only 13 out of 45,095 eligible Serbs taking part.