BELGRADE, Jan 23 Westerners directly threatened Serbia three times withdrawal of investments in case of disagreement with the actual recognition of the independence of the self-proclaimed republic of Kosovo, said Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
On Monday, the government of Serbia held a special meeting devoted to the problem of Kosovo and Metohija, with the participation of the head of state. Vučić at the meeting urged members of the Cabinet to commit to unity.
«The choice is this — or, on the one hand, we will be isolated, under certain sanctions, but no — there are no more severe sanctions than the withdrawal of investments. This was directly stated to me three times, to my face. Or, on the other hand, let's agree to everything and at once, which means Kosovo's accession to the UN. I am for the path of compromise, for fighting as much as possible and advancing our line,» Vucic said in an address to citizens on Monday evening.
He stressed that external pressure on Belgrade has intensified as geopolitical circumstances have changed.
«The nervousness of Europe, which is de facto in a state of war, is great, no matter what they say, there is no tolerance for any falling out of the general ranks in the political sense. On the other hand, they want in their backyard, while the Western Balkans and the territory Serbia is part of «their court», they want everything to be as they want,» the Serbian leader said.
«What else led them to come out with such a blunt approach and a dose of haste from European officials backed by Washington. The whole regional European context is such that in the last few months, after the emergence of the Ukrainian-Russian conflict, the Russian , this has become one of the biggest problems for Serbia. We are all on the radar because we have not imposed sanctions against the Russian Federation,» Vucic said and added that he has not supported the restrictive measures of the West for 334 days.
Earlier, EU Special Representatives Miroslav Lajcak, United States Gabriel Escobar, Germany Emmanuel Bon, France Jens Pletner and Italy Francesco Tal arrived in Belgrade. They visited the capital after Pristina, where they had conversations with the Kosovo Albanian authorities. The Serbian President, after meeting with them, declared that he was ready to accept the «French-German» proposal for a settlement in Kosovo with reservations and caution.
Vučić also made it clear that he was presented with the possible negative consequences and challenges that Serbia would face in case of refusal. Earlier, the Serbian President said in Davos that the West is not interested in any other position than supporting sanctions against Russia and the independence of the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo.
The Serbian leader earlier also pointed to external pressure on Belgrade to secure UN membership for the self-proclaimed republic of Kosovo in the context of the forthcoming visit to Serbia by US State Department adviser Derek Schollet. He also suggested that the West would require the Serbian authorities to sign an agreement with the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo as soon as Belgrade supported the sanctions against Russia.