Rada Trajkovic: Macron’s Visit to Belgrade Made Conditional on Radoicic’s Arrest

Rada Trajkovic (BetaPhoto/Armenija Zajmi Besevic)

The president of the European Movement of the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, Rada Trajkovic, said on July 29 that the arrest of Milan Radoicic was one of the conditions for French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Belgrade.

In an interview with BETA, Trajkovic said that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic would have to arrest Radoicic over the Banjska events within the next month, when Macron's visit was expected to take place.

The Kosovo Serb politician recalled that during Vucic's visit to France last April, Macron said it was important that participants in the Banjska attack be arrested.

"Vucic is under considerable international pressure because of his close associate Milan Radoicic. The United States has agreed that he should be tried in Belgrade, meaning there is no pressure to extradite Radoicic and his group to Pristina. Vucic promised that Radoicic would be tried, and the expectation is that he will be arrested before the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron," Trajkovic explained.

Trajkovic has noted that it’s much easier for Vucic to relinquish a part of Serbia's territory or now to accept lithium mining than to give up the people who carried out his orders. She also said that the arrest of Radoicic would pose a significant risk for Vucic.

"If the Serbian judiciary were to start dealing with Banjska and Radoicic, it would be an opportunity for various foreign services to provide intelligence data, as in some other trials of  organized criminal groups. In that case, Vucic would not be able to save Radoicic from accounting for his actions," she said.