Vucic, appeal to KFOR not to allow the opening of the bridge over the Ibër River

2024-08-11 14:00:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Vucic, appeal to KFOR not to allow the opening of the bridge over the Ibër

Aleksandar Vucic

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday that he expects the opening of the main bridge over the Iber River in Kosovo on August 14 or 15, as well as the installation of new Serbian leaders in this country by foreign agencies, without providing any evidence.

He made these statements at a time when the Kosovo authorities have warned that the main bridge over Ibar - which divides South Mitrovica, with an Albanian majority, from North Mitrovica, with a Serbian majority - should be fully opened for traffic.

It is currently open for pedestrians, but not for cars, and it is patrolled by the Italian carabinieri of the NATO mission in Kosovo, KFOR.

Vucic called on KFOR not to allow the opening of the bridge.

The Serbian president has claimed that the new Serbian figures, who according to him, will be installed in Kosovo, "will portray them as brave even though they are not, and will try to separate them from Belgrade" and that they answer to the prime minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti.

"Let me tell you right away that it won't work," Vucic said in a press conference, without specifically mentioning any agency.

The largest Serb party in Kosovo is Lista Serbe, which enjoys the support of official Belgrade.

The representatives of the QUINT countries in Kosovo have publicly said that they do not support the opening of the bridge at this time.

QUINT countries are: United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and France.

The European Union has also said that official Prishtina should not take "unilateral decisions".

KFOR has said several times in the last few days that it will not hesitate to act if it notices actions near the bridge that could compromise the safety of citizens.

The Kosovo authorities have started to carry out inspections for the opening of the bridge and earlier in the week they contracted a company to assess the bearing capacity of the bridge, before opening it for vehicle traffic.

Kosovo and Serbia have agreed to open the bridge, first in 2015, later in 2016, within the dialogue mediated by the European Union.

Its opening has been delayed several times, and the international factor requires that this issue be a topic of dialogue again. /REL