______________________________
Aleksandar Vulin, the Serbian Minister Without Portfolio in charge of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, said that Greece remains committed to a policy of non-recognition of Kosovo‘s unilateral declaration of independence, telling Tanjug in Athens after a meeting with Greek Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dimitris Kourkoulas, which focused on the situation in Kosovo and Metohija and the upcoming local elections, that Greece also supports “everything that Serbia’s doing regarding the implementation of the Brussels agreement between Belgrade and Priština. We received support from our traditional friends that they’d continue to pursue the policy of non-recognition of Kosovo and Metohija”. Greece will assume the EU presidency from Lithuania on 1 January 2014.
Vulin said that successful local elections in Kosovo are the only way to normalise life in the province. On Thursday, Vulin said at a roundtable organised by the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) that the issue of security is of key importance for Kosovo Serbs, which requires that crimes be solved, and that hasn’t been the case up to this point. He noted, “For us, the Serbian government, the November elections are the most important. We have invested our entire authority and called on Kosovo Serbs to go to the polls, which was a difficult and politically risky decision, but we know that’s the only way to normalise life in Kosovo”. Vulin emphasised that the stability of the entire region depends on establishing a lasting stability in Kosovo, warning, “If terrorists prevail, if they succeed… we’ll have constant instability of the entire region”.
Vulin noted that, according to the latest information, around 40,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) registered to vote in local elections, which is, as he emphasised, a very good outcome. Vulin restated that for Kosovo Serbs, security for all residents is the main issue and a prerequisite for everything. Vulin observed that since the arrival of the international community in Kosovo, there were 1,037 murders of Serbs due to ethnic bias, but that the courts only sentenced two perpetrators, whilst the other crimes are still unsolved. He cautioned, “There can be no security until that’s changed”, adding that there are also around 40,000 unresolved property cases. Vulin said that this is a reason why Serbs aren’t returning to Kosovo, and noted that around 40,000 Serbs lived in Priština before the 1999 war, but today, there are only 30-40 left there. According to international data, he pointed up that there are between 200,000 and 230,000 Serb IDPs.
Vulin informed participants of the roundtable, held at the representative office of the European Parliament in Greece, about Thursday morning’s murder of a EULEX staff member in Zvečan, saying, “That’s a tragedy. A lost human life, without any reason whatsoever… whoever did that is the greatest enemy of Serbia and Kosovo Serbs, an enemy of peaceful and normal life in Kosovo. On both sides, there are people who think that the Brussels agreement isn’t good and that it isn’t good that Kosovo Serbs in Kosovo can’t assume responsibility for their own future. The Brussels accord is a historic one, but it’s only a first step, the first of many agreements that Belgrade and Priština should reach. For us, maybe, our cultural heritage is the most important, the heritage of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo. We think that should be raised to the level of a new agreement between Belgrade and Priština, with the EU as an intermediary”.
Vulin voiced the hope that the negotiating teams would soon start working on an agreement on property. He noted that the parties reached an agreement on telecommunications and energy, but that they can’t complete solve the problems surrounding energy until they achieve an agreement on property. Vulin also voiced concern over changes to the Law on Amnesty in Kosovo, accentuating that Belgrade or Priština can’t change whatever agreement that comes out of Brussels, but they must be consistently adhere to it. Vulin was on a two-day visit to Athens, but he cut his trip short because of the killing of the EULEX staff member.
20 September 2013
http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics.php?yyyy=2013&mm=09&dd=20&nav_id=87735
Voices from Russia 
Serbia Opposed to “Reduction of Mandate” for EULEX in Kosovo
Tags: Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, Belgrade, EU, EULEX, European Union, European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, Kosovo, Patriarchate of Peć, political commentary, politics, Pristina, Republic of Kosovo, Serbia
_______________________________
On Monday, at the Patriarchate of Peć, Aleksandar Vulin, the Minister without Portfolio for Kosovo and Metohija, said, “The rumours about the reduction of the international community‘s mandate in Kosovo constitute a reason for concern. The Serbian government is against such moves”. Vulin expressed concern over the announcements of cuts in the number of soldiers of the international forces “at the holiest sites, which were targeted by violence and constant attacks and other expressions of hatred”. He said that the rumours about the reduction of EULEX troops in the south and the reduction of the international community’s mandate are very worrying, and added that Belgrade is against such moves. He emphasised that EULEX came to the area in accordance with a decision of the UN Security Council and only a decision of the UN Security Council can change it. Vulin noted, “A potential change in the mandate of EULEX isn’t an issue Priština can unilaterally decide on, this is a matter on which a decision can be made only by the body in keeping with whose will EULEX came to the area in the first place”.
15 October 2013
B92
http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics.php?yyyy=2013&mm=10&dd=15&nav_id=88009