Vucic: Pristina Demanded Recognition in Exchange for Allowing Voting in Kosovo

Aleksandar Vucic (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV/EV)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on March 22 that – in response to Serbia’s request that local polling stations be set up in Kosovo for the upcoming Serbian presidential and parliamentary elections – Pristina demanded that Belgrade first recognize Kosovo’s unilaterally declared independence.
 
At an evening press conference held at the Palace of Serbia, Vucic stated that the elections are more than a matter of democracy and voting rights: rather, they are central to the security, political integrity and very survival of the Serbian people.

Underlining that Belgrade had accepted many compromises to ensure citizens’ rights to vote, Vucic said that Pristina adamantly demanded nothing shy of full recognition from Serbia. “This, Serbia could not accept. No amount of votes or power are important enough to take such a step, which is why we refused,” the president explained.

Prompted by Pristina’s stance, Kosovo Serbs expressed their readiness to withdraw from all Kosovo institutions, including the police force, Vucic said, adding that while he understood the local Serbs’ dire circumstances he was unaware they are willing to “risk it all” and are “sick and tired of everything happening in Kosovo.”