Vucic Says Has No Relationship with Kurti, Doesn't Want to Take Part in Campaign Against Him

Aleksandar Vucic (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)

In an interview with Brussels-based website Politico, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has said he has no relationship with Kosovo Premier Albin Kurti and does not want to be involved in an anti-Kurti campaign.

"I don’t want to participate in an anti-Kurti campaign or an ad-hominem campaign against anyone," Vucic told the Brussels portal in an article on the situation in northern Kosovo, adding that the Kosovo leadership appeared to be obsessed with him. "If you read what they say every day, it's always Vucic, Vucic, Vucic," he added.   

In the article, Politico writes about the long-smoldering conflict between Kosovo and Serbia over the status of majority Serbs in the enclaves in northern Kosovo which, according to the website, seems "poised to go back on the boil." It points out that the leaders of the two sides ramped their rhetoric and exchanged insults and accusations this week.

The portal quotes the Serbian president as saying he has no interest in "fanning the flames" and insisting on Kosovo being the side that is blocking progress in the negotiations. "Even though people in Brussels see what side is blocking the progress, they would never say that publicly... the EU and the Americans agree with us," Vucic told Politico.