Vucic on aqueduct explosion, 'hybrid attack on Serbia'

(ANSA) - BELGRADO, DEC 1 - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic again rejected any involvement of Belgrade in the aqueduct explosion that occurred on the evening of Nov. 29 in northern Kosovo, and denounced what he called a "big, hard hybrid attack" against Serbia. Speaking at a press conference broadcast live on TV, Vucic accused Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and the entire leadership in Pristina of immediately pointing the finger at Serbia without wanting to wait for the results of an objective investigation into what happened. Investigation to which, he stressed, Belgrade intends to contribute by cooperating with all parties, including investigators in Pristina. "We are absolutely open to full cooperation with Eulex, Kfor, with everyone and on every issue," the president said. Neither Belgrade nor Serbia, he added, has any connection with what happened in northern Kosovo, and it will be the investigation that will shed light on what happened and those responsible for the sabotage. For Vucic, Pristina's hasty and baseless accusations against Serbia were a "set-up for the benefit of international public opinion, as well as domestic public opinion."In his remarks before the press, Vucic said he believed that the attack on the aqueduct was orchestrated by Albanians (from Kosovo) and possibly individual Serbs collaborating with (Kosovo Prime Minister) Albin Kurti, although Belgrade has no official confirmation of this. "If it is established that any Serbs played a role in this, they will be immediately arrested and immediately tried. But I'm afraid that will not be the case," Vucic said. The president, stressing that Belgrade had not the slightest interest in carrying out an attack on the aqueduct, which also serves the local Serb population in northern Kosovo, then outlined five reasons he believes led Pristina to accuse Serbia. The first is to want to impose the stationing of Kosovo Security Force units in the Serb-majority north of the country, to decree an increasing presence of Pristina in Serb-inhabited territories. The second is to damage Serbia's image and curb its path to EU integration.
    Vucic's third reason is the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled to be held in Kosovo on February 9, with a desire to present Serbs and the Srpska Lista party as terrorists who have no right to participate in the country's public and political life. Another reason, he added, is PM Kurti's desire to improve his image and his declining popularity rating, while the last reason to explain Pristina's behavior is to continue with the policy of terror and persecution of Serb communities in Kosovo, and particularly in the north. Vucic then referred polemically to a statement by German Michael Roth, head of the Bundestag foreign affairs committee, that if Belgrade's responsibility in the aqueduct bombing is proven, it will mean a halt to EU accession negotiations. Roth's words, Vucic said, were not a surprise since he is in his own words a lobbyist who has been an Albanian supporter since 1999 (since the armed conflict in Kosovo, ed.). "In this case I fully agree with Mr. Roth. If it is proven that Belgrade is responsible, I ask you to stop our European path," the Serbian president said. The U.S. has condemned the attack on Kosovo's water infrastructure. "We condemn the Nov. 29 attack on Kosovo's water supply," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller wrote on X. "We will support efforts to find and punish those responsible and appreciate all offers of support for that effort," he added. (ANSA).