In November, the procedure for Kosovo's admission to the Council of Europe begins. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that at the moment Serbia has eight notes on the withdrawal of recognition of Kosovo, but he pointed out that the process of Kosovo's admission to the Council of Europe is expected to begin.

“What awaits us is that on November 2 or 3, the procedure for Kosovo's admission to the Council of Europe will begin. They are waiting for the Hungarian member to leave the Bureau of the Committee of Ministers and be replaced by a Lithuanian member, and then they will start the procedure that lasts a long time, but with a clear outcome that Kosovo joins the Council of Europe, which would exert additional pressure on Serbia,” Vucic said.

The goal of that pressure, he said, is for Belgrade to allow Kosovo's independence in the formal sense as well.

“At this moment, there is no will in the Serbian leadership, and while the President myself, there will be no will to accept Kosovo's independence and Kosovo's membership in the UN,” he said.

International law has long since been violated

Vucic said that the Americans are increasing their military presence in Kosovo.

“And what’s interesting is that they say they are coming to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Kosovo,” he said.

This should be a signal to us and to the Serbs in the north of Kosovo that they should not dream of respecting the UN Charter and UN decisions, including Resolution 1244, but that the policy of force that is being implemented even today must be respected, Vucic added.

“We understand that international law has long been violated and that there is only the right of force, greater and stronger force, but we have no choice but to refer to international law and perhaps be the only ones adhering to it completely,” he said.

The proposal of Germany and France for Kosovo is on the table

The Serbian President noted that the country’s position in Kosovo is becoming increasingly complicated.

“Western countries will try to, as they think, solve the problem of Kosovo in one way or another, by Kosovo's entry into the UN and because they think that in this way they are solving intra-European problems, and the second reason is, without any doubt, to take away the argument of Kosovo from Vladimir Putin and the Russian Federation,” he said.

“When I said that the architecture of the talks was changing, the EU denied it, I didn't understand what the purpose of that denial was. Today, we have a proposal on the table from the two largest European powers, Germany and France, and that proposal is a proposal that we have to discuss,” said Vucic and explained his position.

He pointed out that it was irresponsible and frivolous to throw that proposal out the window, but that he was not sure that Serbia could even accept it.

“I can’t go into the details, because it’s still not public, but the essence is that if Serbia allows Kosovo to enter all international institutions and organizations, including the UN, for that, although it’s not specified, Serbia would receive a quick entry into the EU and probably significant economic benefits,” the President said.

He added that Serbia's position is that we must talk and work on reconciliation with the Albanians and normalise our relations.

“I said that for Serbia and because of the Constitution, but not only because of the Constitution, it is unacceptable for Kosovo to be a member of the UN and that will bear its consequences,” he added.

The Serbian President explained that the whole idea is based on Kosovo becoming a member of the UN “one way or another, without our recognition.” He stressed that Serbia would thus not be “further humiliated and forced to formally recognize Kosovo,” but by not even reacting, it would give a silent signal that it agrees with it.