Vučić at UN Security Council session spoke about Kosovo's 'unbearable decisions' for Serbs, Kurti said 'euro remains'

(Patria) - Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said at an extraordinary session of the United Nations Security Council, held in New York on February 8, that "Kosovo's latest decisions are unbearable" for Serbs in Kosovo.

"The abolition of the dinar (in Kosovo) deprives people of their livelihoods," Vučić said.

He stated that the decision of the Central Bank of Kosovo "endangers the position of Serbs who rely on budget transfers from Serbia." He also assessed that Kosovo prevents the work of educational and health institutions of Serbs.

"The solution to this situation is the demand to stop Pristina's measures and unilateral moves," Vučić said, as reported by RSE.

The session was convened at Serbia's request due to the latest decisions of the Kosovo authorities.

This session comes after the decision of the Central Bank of Kosovo to make the euro the sole currency for payments and transactions from February 1, which in practice means the abolition of the Serbian dinar.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti says a "campaign" is being waged against Kosovo. Kurti said at the session that Serbia's accusations are false.

He said that the regulation of the Central Bank of Kosovo "does not prevent the Government of Serbia from providing financial assistance to Serbs".

"The Central Bank is committed to ensuring that Serbs can receive assistance," Kurti said, adding that the Central Bank in Kosovo had contacted the National Bank of Serbia in this regard.

He said that this decision ensures transparency of public finances. Kurti accused Serbia of waging a campaign against Kosovo because it does not allow "money in bags" to be brought into Kosovo.

"Kosovo is a multi-ethnic society," Kurti said, stating that it is false that Kosovo is persecuting Serbs.

In another speech to the UN Security Council, Kurti said that the dinar (the currency in Serbia) is not banned in Kosovo, but only that the euro is the currency for transactions.

Russia's representative to the UN Security Council, Dmitry Polyanskiy, said that "Serbs are facing a direct threat to their physical survival".

"Pristina is carrying out anti-Serb terror," he said.

Polyanskiy said that the decision to introduce the euro as the sole currency in Kosovo is illegal "because non-Albanians can be left without pensions, salaries, and tuition fees in this way".

"This is a political and discriminatory measure that undermines the efforts of the international community to find a compromise," Polyanskiy said.

China's Ambassador to the UN Zhang Jun said that the move by the Kosovo bank had a significant impact on Serbs in Kosovo and created tension and panic.

"This threatens regional peace and stability," Zhang Jun said. Beijing has called for the annulment of Pristina's "unreasonable" decisions.