Vucic in Paris: EU Must Keep Demanding That Pristina Meet Its Obligations

Emmanuel Macron, Aleksandar Vucic (BETAPHOTO/SERBIAN PRESIDENCY /DIMITRIJE GOLL)

In a message from Paris on Nov. 11, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic urged European institutions and European Union member countries to retain "the firm stance that Pristina must finally begin to fulfill the obligations that it has undertaken," referring to establishing the Community of Serb Municipalities in Kosovo.

Vucic added that this would reveal in practice their "alleged commitment to continuing the dialogue and resolving all open issues." In an Instagram post he said that the participants in his talk with EU High Representative Josep Borrell and EU special envoy for Belgrade-Pristina talks Miroslav Lajcak agreed that tensions needed to be defused.

A day earlier, during a visit to Paris on Nov. 10-11, Vucic said Serbia could change its stance on introducing sanctions against Russia only if the sword of Damocles "literally" hung above its head. He added that Serbia would not move away from a policy based on preserving international law, condemning anyone who violates it and forays into another country's territory, nor from its position of not waging a policy of sanctions, "Especially toward those who protected us in 2015 and helped us preserve our territorial integrity."

In Paris Vucic met with French President Emmanuel Macron on Nov. 10, describing the encounter as excellent on Instagram. The Serbian Broadcasting Corporation earlier showed footage of the French president meeting Vucic in front of the Elysee Palace.