Petković: By laying the foundation stone for 2 bridges in Kosovska Mitrovica, Kurti causes conflicts and riots

Petković assessed that the acting prime minister of Pristina's temporary institutions, Albin Kurti, wants to cause conflicts and riots with dangerous escalating moves.

In his statement to Tanjug, Petković emphasized that by doing so, Kurti is endangering the survival of Serbs, especially in Kosovska Mitrovica, who have survived more than 200 heavy attacks on the bridge and attempted incursions by extremists from the southern part of the city, and added that today he conveyed this to the European Union's special envoy for the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, Sørensen, during the conversation in Vienna.

He also stated that no Serb in the north approves of the decision to build bridges.

"It is a party decision of Self-Determination that brings with it catastrophic consequences. By announcing that the bridges will be opened in October before the local elections, Kurti is consciously putting the issue of security at the service of the election campaign. That is why he left the meeting of the Berlin Process with the right to lay the foundation stone and thereby showed that peace building and cooperation do not matter to him! The EU must stop Kurti in his plans before it is too late," said Petković.

Earlier today, Kurti laid the foundation stone for the construction of two bridges over the Ibar River in Kosovska Mitrovica, near the main bridge, and said that the main bridge over the Ibar River, which is currently closed to traffic and constantly secured by KFOR members, should be opened as soon as possible. The EU yesterday called on Pristina to refrain from any unilateral actions, including the construction of two new bridges, and the German embassy today also called on Pristina to show restraint in connection with the construction of two bridges over the Ibar.

The main bridge over the Ibar in Kosovska Mitrovica, which divides the city into the northern part inhabited by Serbs for the most part and the southern part, where Albanians live, is closed to vehicles and is constantly guarded by KFOR members.

After the conflict in 1999, numerous incidents were recorded on it because Albanians from the southern part of the city tried to invade the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica, where the Serbs are the majority population.

After the Serbs left the temporary institutions due to Pristina's unilateral moves, the municipal councilors in the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica approved the request to open the main bridge for traffic in April 2023, and this decision was supported by the government of the temporary institutions of Pristina.

The opening of the bridge on the Ibar is opposed by the Serbs in Kosovo and Belgrade, pointing out that it would threaten the security of the Serbs in the north of the province. Representatives of the international community also opposed the opening of this bridge in Kosovska Mitrovica, stating that the issue should be resolved in a dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.