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Serbian Defense Minister Milosh Vucevic said on January 11 that he is not optimistic that Belgrade and Pristina will reach an agreement on Kosovo by the end of the year.
As he assessed for Radio Television of Serbia (RTS), the political pressure on Serbia continues - both for Kosovo and for relations with Russia.
Serbia has not imposed sanctions on Russia for the occupation of Ukraine, which has been going on for almost two years, since February 24, 2022, even though it is a candidate for membership in the European Union.
"Not an easy period, above all, I would say in the next six months - not only until the end of January - Kosovo will be the dominant topic", said Vučevič.
As he added, Belgrade should continue to be maximally constructive, protecting state and national interests, but also have clearly defined red lines.
Vucevic also said that "it is not realistic" to achieve something that has not been achieved for decades by the end of the year.
Last year, Kosovo and Serbia reached the Agreement for the normalization of relations and the Annex for its implementation. Despite international pressure for the parties to implement the agreement, the European bloc has said that it is not being implemented.
The agreement on normalization, of 11 articles, provides, among other things, a level of self-management for the Serbian community in Kosovo and mutual recognition of state symbols, while it asks Prishtina and Belgrade to also implement all previous agreements reached during the dialogue.
The United States has repeatedly stated that the dialogue for the normalization of relations should be concluded with mutual recognition between Kosovo and Serbia.
The international community has repeatedly asked Kosovo to establish the Association of Serb-majority municipalities, which should give greater decision-making to the Serbs in Kosovo.
Initiative for the return of military service
Vucevici also said that the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff will not give up the initiative to resume military service.
He emphasized that it is important to mention that "it is not a call for war", but an understanding of all security aspects of the geopolitical circumstances, the situation in the country, the situation in the region and the future of Serbia.
"We have submitted an official initiative to the military cabinet of the president of the state. We will listen to his statements, i.e. his associates. After that there will be a public hearing. The last instance is the Government, ie. Parliament", said Vucevic.
He emphasized that it is not yet known if the military service, if it is reactivated, will last 100 or 120 days.
The initiative for the return of compulsory military service was initiated by the General Staff of the Serbian Army and submitted to the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, on January 4.
In its explanation, the army stated that the proposal follows "a detailed review of the overall security situation and contemporary challenges facing Serbia as a militarily neutral country".
Former diplomat Nikola Llunic, from the non-governmental Belgrade Council for Strategic Policy, stated for Radio Free Europe that the initiative "shows that the Armed Forces of Serbia are facing accumulated problems of filling the units, which further implies that the current management does not is able to solve them"./REL
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