Vučić was unable to explain to the deputies of the Assembly the settlement plan in Kosovo

Deputies of the Serbian Assembly on February 2 for 11 hours discussed with President Aleksandar Vučić the so-called “French-German” plan to resolve the situation in Kosovo. During the meeting, several times it almost came to a fight with the participation of the head of state, there were mutual accusations of “betrayal of Serbia”, as well as demands for early presidential elections. However, despite their demands, Vučić did not disclose all the details of the proposed Franco-German plan to the deputies. The meeting is scheduled to continue today.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić came to parliament to explain to the deputies about the situation with Kosovo, as he promised in his address to the nation on January 23. The meeting of the Assembly could not pass quietly. Right before it began, the deputies of the four right-wing opposition factions of the Assembly announced at a special press conference that Vucic was elected “to defend Kosovo, not to surrender it,” and expressed confidence that the country now faces a choice “between Vucic and Serbia.” The meeting itself immediately began violently – the president went to the podium to the applause of deputies-supporters from the ruling Serbian Progressive Party and to the displeased rumble of representatives of the right-wing opposition, who unfurled posters in the hall with the inscriptions “No to the ultimatum!” (as they call the “French-German” plan) and “No surrender!”, by which they mean the recognition of Kosovo’s right to membership in the UN, as well as portraits of the Kosovo Serbian politician Oliver Ivanovich, who was killed by unknown people in 2018. The opposition accused Vučić’s entourage of involvement in this crime.

Vučić’s story about the “Franco-German” plan quickly devolved into a squabble. The president went over his January theses about how the representatives of the “five powerful countries” led by the United States “repeated” him three times that they were “determined” to solve the Kosovo problem. And if Vucic rejects the proposed project, he will receive not only the suspension of Serbia’s European integration, but also sanctions from the EU, including the refusal to invest in the country. Among the points of the plan, Vučić named the de facto recognition of Kosovo’s independence and the building of bilateral relations as “between two subjects of international law”, as well as Serbia’s refusal to try to prevent Kosovo from joining any international organizations. “Do you understand us, Alexander?” Vučić quoted one of the Western negotiators.

After that, the situation abruptly got out of control of the speaker of the Assembly, Vladimir Orlic. The right-wing oppositionists, led by Bosko Obradovic, read out the signatures of well-known people in Serbia who oppose the plan, including director Emir Kusturic and former Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica.

By this time, the opposition began to chant: “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia,” and the deputies jumped up from their seats. Mutual accusations began on the part of the deputies and the president of “betrayal of Kosovo”, which in the end almost ended in a real brawl. Deputies from the Serbian Progressive Party even surrounded the place where Vucic was sitting, even the head of the presidential cabinet, Ivica Kojic, came to his aid.

There was no more constructive discussion. The deputies, along with the accusations, demanded that Vučić fully disclose the plan, which he never did. The President, in response, reminded them of the “Albanian criminals released under their rule.” As a result, Orlic curtailed the meeting, announcing that he would continue it on February 3 in the morning. In total, the fight between the president and the deputies lasted almost 11 hours with one break.

In addition to the pressure of the right opposition, which demands, in fact, to reject the “Franco-German” plan, Vučić is also under pressure from the opposite side. On the eve of the meeting of the Assembly, a group of Serbian writers, journalists and public figures signed an appeal stating that the idea of ​​”reunification with Kosovo” is not only illusory, but also dangerous. Since its implementation is possible only with the help of a “new war”, which will “dramatically throw Serbia back” and close the way for economic growth and modernization.

Professor and deputy of the Assembly Vladeta Jankovic, on the air of the talk show “For the News” on the Serbian channel N1, suggested that “Vučić will not sign any agreements.” “The next act will be in Kosovo itself. Perhaps it will be about the resignation of Kurti [глава правительства Косово Альбин Курти] after three or six months under American pressure. And the creation of an association of Serbian communities in the region. And then the moment of truth will come, when it will be necessary to go to the Assembly and talk,” he believes.