Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has announced that he will send a letter to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, asking him to prevent the main bridge over the Ibar River in Mitrovica from being opened to traffic.
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Vučić claims that the process is moving forward without North Mitrovica Mayor Milan Radojević being informed. He told Serbian media on Tuesday that he might send the letter that same day or the following day, expressing hope that Rutte would accept his request.
“This is being done by that Turk, the KFOR commander. I will write to Mark Rutte today. I hope he will respond and accept my request that this not be done. For me, this is a great disgrace and disappointment. It shows the nervousness that has gripped them because they do not know how to force Serbia to accept an independent Kosovo,” Vučić said.
Analyst Gani Mehmeti described the Serbian president’s reaction as “commanding,” saying that Vučić is not simply voicing objections to the bridge but is also attempting to dictate NATO command’s position.
Mehmeti says the Serbian president opposes the enforcement of the law and the expansion of the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo into the north. According to him, following the start of the bridge’s gradual opening and the involvement of the Kosovo Police, Vučić is attempting to address the NATO secretary general directly because he does not consider communication with the KFOR commander sufficient.
“Since 2000, when dozens of Albanians were killed in Mitrovica and expelled as part of ethnic cleansing with KFOR’s assistance, Vučić and others have not spoken out about the reasons for the persecution of Albanians. On the contrary, they supported, according to him, the massacre and expulsion of Albanians from northern Kosovo because they were seeking control of the underground mineral wealth in this area,” Mehmeti told “Bota sot.”
He added that the situation changed after Serbian criminal gangs were eliminated and Kosovo’s laws began to be enforced in the north. Mehmeti claims that Vučić is now unable to exert influence even through the Serb List and is therefore trying to present himself as an authority who can issue orders to NATO representatives.
According to the analyst, the Serbian president opposes traffic across the Ibar Bridge because he wants northern Kosovo to remain separated from the rest of the country, with the aim of one day annexing it to Serbia. Mehmeti stressed that bridges should connect people and places and that there should be no border at that location.
He also criticized KFOR’s past role, claiming that after Albanians were expelled from the north and prevented from returning to their ancestral lands of thousands of years, the division of Mitrovica was also enabled to accommodate Serbian demands. Mehmeti asked why no other Kosovo city, such as Pristina, Prizren or Peja, was divided, arguing that these cities did not have a Serbian presence that would have prompted such a demand.
Mehmeti accused Vučić of treating the KFOR commander with contempt and interfering in Kosovo’s internal affairs. He recalled that, if he was not mistaken, the decision to open the bridge was made around 2016, but its implementation was obstructed by Serbian criminal structures.
“Vučić, be sensible, recognize the Republic of Kosovo, and let us live as neighbors. Everyone should mind their own affairs without interfering in each other’s matters,” Mehmeti concluded in his statement to “Bota sot,” stressing that Serbia is seeking foreign land, while Albanians are claiming their own land.
