The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, has stated that the statement of the Minister of State Administration and Local Self-Government, Snezhana Paunović, does not reflect the will and policy of either the president or the Government of Serbia.
Vučić emphasized that the policy of Serbia's state leadership is based on dialogue, peace and stability, not on ethnic cleansing.
“We must be responsible. Our policy should be dialogue, compromises and talks and never ethnic cleansing. Period. Now, Snezhana (Paunovic) herself is a victim of ethnic cleansing and so on, but this message should be absolutely clear: Our policy is completely different. So, our policy is peace, stability and not ethnic cleansing,” Vučić said in a statement to Serbian media in Kiev.
He also commented on the decision of the Kosovo authorities to declare Paunović persona non grata.
"Pristina has declared each of us persona non grata. Pristina banned Ana Brnabic from even attending the private baptism of a child at the Gracanica Monastery. Therefore, what Pristina says is not relevant to anyone. Wasn't he the one who was talking about my involvement in the 'Sarajevo Safari', who has always brutally lied about Serbs, while he is engaged in the ethnic cleansing of Serbs? In the end, the result is that more than 250 thousand Serbs, not Albanians, have been ethnically cleansed," Vučić said.
He added that Paunovic's statement was reckless and not sufficiently responsible.
"Such statements should not be made in public, and this is neither my policy nor that of the Serbian Government. It is our duty to say this clearly. As for others who lecture us, it is better if they do not speak at all. That is all I have to say. We must be honest with ourselves. I myself have apologized to people for my statements. Therefore, it is good that things are carefully examined and reacted to in a timely manner," Vučić added.
On Monday, Minister Paunovic stated that if she had been in Slobodan Milosevic's place in 1998, she would have ethnically cleansed Kosovo.
"If I were in Milosevic's place in 1998, I would have ethnically cleansed Kosovo. This is the most serious statement I have ever made. Not in the way they want to liquidate us, but in such a way that they would not feel part of Serbia and would go to their motherland," Paunovic said.
Paunovic, born in Peja, Kosovo, has long been known for her tough stances on the Kosovo issue.
After this statement to a Serbian media outlet, she was declared persona non grata in Kosovo.
