Vucic: Pristina Planning to Open Bridge over Ibar in Kosovska Mitrovica by Force on Aug. 14 or 15

Aleksandar Vucic, Belgrade, June 24 2024 (BETAPHOTO/Milan Obradovic)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic warned on Aug. 11 that the government in Pristina was planning to "open by force" the bridge over the Ibar River, which separates the north and south sections of Kosovska Mitrovica, on Aug. 14 or 15.

In an address to the people from Serbia Palace, Vucic said he expected "further provocations" in Kosovo and Metohija. "They are planning to open the bridge by force on Aug. 14 or 15, and in the meantime foreign agencies will try to muscle in some new Serb leaders and help them appear brave, even though they are not, and try to separate them from Belgrade and then arrange with Kurti how they can be his flunkies while in fact working for foreign interests. That will not pass," Vucic said.

He urged KFOR not to permit the "unilateral" opening of the bridge in Kosovska Mitrovica. "We have respect for KFOR and I believe they will do its job," the president said.

In the same address, Vucic said he would talk to regular people concerned about lithium -- in Loznica, Krupanj and other towns, adding that the decision on mining had not been made yet and that he wasn't "out of his mind" to do something contary to their interests. He added that "a referendum can be arranged, on the territory of Loznica or all of Serbia," but that he believed those in favor of blockades wanted to avoid one.