Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic is not backing down from his statement that the Serbian flag will fly again in Prizren. Following the backlash this stance caused, the leader of the Socialist Party of Serbia repeated his claims during an election rally in Belgrade, insisting that Serbia will not give up on Kosovo.
Dacic also responded to former German Minister Michael Roth, who had criticized his statement on Prizren. Instead of distancing himself from his previous position, the Serbian minister defended it, referring to Serbia's history and wars.
"He said: How dare Dacic say something like that? Well, I dare! We are different from others. We dare, because we think like that and because we defended Kosovo and Metohija with war. And I especially dare to say this, because I was born in Prizren, where today more than 20 Serbs live. Thirty years ago, more than 10,000 of them lived there," Dacic declared.
Referring to Prizren's historical past, he implied that restoring Serbian control over Kosovo remains a goal that can be realized in the future.
"It doesn't have to happen tomorrow, but it will happen just like we did before. We waited four and a half centuries," he said.
The Serbian minister described Kosovo not as a myth, but as a territorial issue for which Serbia must continue to fight politically, reiterating the position that there can be no Serbia without Kosovo.
In his speech, Dacic also praised the figure of former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, to whom he attributed the restoration of the national glory of the Serbs. He also stressed that he will continue diplomatic efforts to prevent international recognition of Kosovo's independence.
"I helped more than 20 countries withdraw their recognition of the independence of the so-called Kosovo. If we are a factor, we will continue with that policy. Another 10, 20 countries will withdraw their recognition of Kosovo. We are continuing this fight," he declared.
Dacic also reconfirmed his orientation towards Russia and China, which he considers Serbia's main allies in opposing Kosovo's independence.
"Russia, China and others who vote against Kosovo in international organizations are our friends. And no sanctions, no hostility towards them is out of the question. I am not a Russophile, I am a Serbophile. We need this for the sake of Serbia," he said.
The repeated statements about Prizren come at a time when Dacic is using the Kosovo issue as one of the main topics of his political campaign. The leader of the Serbian Socialists has also expressed his ambition to run for president of Serbia in the upcoming presidential elections.
The Socialist Party of Serbia, founded by Slobodan Milosevic, competes with the slogan "The Stability Factor", while its leader continues to publicly defend Belgrade's claims over Kosovo, bringing back the nationalist rhetoric of the past to the political discourse.
