Dacic: Combat Readiness Raised to Highest Level, Serbia Not Planning to Intervene in Kosovo

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on May 27 that the elevated combat readiness of Serbia's army was not a preparation to intervene, but geared toward being ready "for every scenario."

"We will definitely protect our people. We hope it will not come to that [the need to intervene militarily]," said Dacic, who is also the general secretary of the National Security Council. Commenting on the latest escalation of tensions in northern Kosovo for the Serbian Broadcasting Corporation, Dacic called it perhaps "one of the most dangerous situations."

"They are hitting at the foundation of the survival of the Serb people in northern [Kosovo and Metohija], and that is the local government that we need to keep. The population isn't mixed there so you cannot say there are ethnic Albanians there. Thirteen Serbs voted in these so-called elections. Now you have some new councilors and municipal heads or mayors, and we have said from the outset that this move could cause huge conflict and warned the international community," Dacic said.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova issued a statement in response to the tensions in Kosovo condemning "Pristina's provocations" that threaten security in the Balkans.