Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic condemned the killing of the policeman in the village of Bansko in northern Kosovo. “I do not want to justify the killing of an Albanian policeman, nor is it possible to justify it. This act is absolutely condemnable,” the Serbian president said at a press conference in Belgrade. He stated that today was the most difficult day for Serbia since 2004 and the pogrom against the Serbian population and in 2008 when Kosovo declared independence.

Vucic pointed out that the Serbian army and police had nothing to do with the incidents, while he accused Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti of trying to justify the imposition of a regime of violence in northern Kosovo by blaming Belgrade. “They just wanted to put the blame on Belgrade and show that they have every right to attack civilians in the north of Kosovo,” Vucic said.

He did not give clear answers about the armed Serbs, he said that it was “some Serbs from Kosovo who rebelled”, stressing that they were not equipped or received uniforms from Serbia. Vucic claimed that the Serbian Orthodox Church was not involved either, saying that the armed Serbs fled to the Monastery in Bansko because they had wounded people and asked for help.