Serbian President Vucic Says Serbs in Kosovo Facing Greatest Persecution in 15 Years

BELGRADE (Sputnik) - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Wednesday that the current persecution of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija is the greatest in the last 15 years.

Earlier in the day, Vucic met with EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Miroslav Lajcak in Belgrade, who recently called on Pristina to de-escalate and continue the dialogue with Serbia.

"I spoke with Lajcak about the situation in Kosovo and Metohija, the ways to reduce tensions on the ground and the application of the agreements reached so far. Once again, I pointed out that the Serbian people in Kosovo are subjected to the worst abuse and persecution over the last 15 years and I repeated my demands for their rights and security," Vucic wrote on social media, calling on the international community to become more involved in resolving these issues.

Local Serbs have been protesting for over a month in northern Kosovo and Metohija, demanding that Pristina withdraw Kosovo Albanian police special forces from four northern Serb-populated municipalities, release about 10 of their compatriots detained since late May, and recall the ethnically Albanian mayors from their posts.

Serbia has still not recognized the independence of the self-proclaimed republic of Kosovo, its former province, which it continues to refer to as its Kosovo and Metohija region. A large ethnic Serb community is residing in Kosovo's north, often bearing the brunt of diplomatic tensions between Belgrade and Pristina, and protesting what they consider discriminatory Kosovar policies.