As of: March 28, 2024, 1:25 p.m
By: Alexandra Heidsiek
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Split
Serbia's president fuels speculation with a cryptic Instagram post. The background could be Kosovo's potential accession to the Council of Europe.
Belgrade - Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić posted a photo on Instagram yesterday with his son Danilo, wearing a T-shirt with the geographical outlines of Kosovo and Metohija in the colors of the Serbian flag. The inscription “No Surrender” was emblazoned above it.
Dispute arbitration paves Kosovo's path to the Council of Europe
His message may be intended to express his displeasure with Kosovo's potential accession to the Council of Europe. Kosovo has long been pushing for membership in the organization. One point of conflict was a long-standing legal dispute over the land rights of a Serbian Orthodox monastery in the west of the country. The Kosovo government led by Prime Minister Albin Kurti has now given in to this, and the way to the Council of Europe seems clear. The Council of Europe congress meets tomorrow, so a timely statement on the Kosovo issue could follow soon.
An hour before posting the photo with his son, Vučić wrote on Instagram about “difficult days” ahead in Serbia. “At this point it is not easy to say what news has reached us in the last 48 hours... It directly threatens our national interest - both that of Serbia and Srpska. In the coming days I will present to the Serbian people the hurdles that lie ahead. They will be hard, the hardest yet. We will fight. Serbia will win.”
Vučić's party secured an absolute majority in parliament after new elections
Just yesterday, Republika Srpska introduced a new electoral law that rejects Bosnia and Herzegovina's sovereignty over electoral processes in the Bosnian entity as well as decisions of the Bosnian Constitutional Court. The entities have no constitutional right to hold elections. Since the Bosnian War of 1992 to 1995, the Dayton Agreement has stipulated that elections in the Republic of Srpska are conducted through the Central Election Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić wants to prevent Kosovo from joining the Council of Europe © Soeren Stache/dpa
What exactly Vučić is referring to in his cryptic Instagram post is unclear. In the past, he has repeatedly made it clear that Kosovo's entry into the Council of Europe would mean Serbia's exit from the body. In December, Vučić's party won 46 percent of the vote in early elections and achieved an absolute majority in parliament. The opposition accuses the president of fraud.
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