KOSOVO IS TRYING TO OCCUPY SERBAN DISTRICTS: VUCEVIC
Serbia’s armed forces cannot ignore violence perpetrated against Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija and will have to respond if Serbian residents are killed, Serbian Defense Minister Milos Vucevic told the RTS TV channel on Wednesday, TASS reports.
"We are talking about, God forbid, the murders of Serbs, the physical extermination of our people by the Kosovo police, the expulsion of the Serbian people, pogroms, about everything that was happening to us 20 or 30 years ago. These circumstances, indeed, would not be just ‘code red’ but also the moment when Serbia cannot simply negotiate and sit on its hands," he said.
On Tuesday, the chief of the General Staff, General Milan Mojsilovic, inspected the army units deployed at the administrative border of the autonomous province of Kosovo and Metohija. The general checked how the deployment of the Serbian military units was proceeding and confirmed that troops were ready, motivated, and fully trained for a rapid and resolute implementation of all assigned missions.
NATO INTENDS TO SEND ANOTHER 700 TROOPS TO KOSOVO
NATO has said it will send 700 extra troops to try to curb the violence in Kosovo a day after 30 alliance-led peacekeeping soldiers and more than 50 ethnic Serbian protesters were injured in clashes, The Guardian reports.
On Monday, NATO peacekeepers in riot gear had secured a town hall in the town of Zvecan as the situation remained tense.
Serbia’s president, Aleksandar Vučić, had previously put the army on the highest level of combat alert, and on Tuesday, Moscow accused the west of “blaming” Serbs it said had been “driven to despair”.
On Monday, the NATO-led Kosovo Force (Kfor) soldiers blocked a group of ethnic Serbian demonstrators from entering the area.
The protesters had boycotted last month’s elections in at least three northern towns in the area where they are in a majority, allowing ethnic Albanians to take control of local councils despite a minuscule turnout of less than 3.5% of voters – a move that led the US and its allies to rebuke Kosovo’s leaders on Friday.
Many Serbs are demanding the withdrawal of Kosovo police forces, as well as the ethnic Albanian mayors they do not consider their true representatives.
Tensions flared after the Serbian protesters tried to force their way into the Zvecan municipal building but were repelled by teargas fired by Kosovan police.
While at first trying to separate protesters from the police, Kfor soldiers later started to disperse the crowd using shields and batons. Protesters responded by hurling rocks, bottles and molotov cocktails at the soldiers.
PUTIN AND ZELENSKY VISIT TURKEY
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia's Vladimir Putin may visit Turkey after the inauguration of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to a report in the Turkish publication Hürriyet on Tuesday, May 30.
"Putin will make a separate special visit to Turkey. After Putin, President Zelensky will come to Turkey," noted Hande Firat, the publication’s correspondent, referring to unnamed sources.
During these visits, Firat speculates, they are expected to discuss the matter of Russia's war and the grain agreement.
Since the beginning of the conflict, Turkey has been actively offering to act as a mediator for a ceasefire in Ukraine. In particular, Ankara's involvement has facilitated the resumption of Ukrainian food exports, which had been initially blocked by Russia.
Additionally, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly offered Zelensky and Putin a platform to meet and negotiate within neutral Turkish territory.
Zelensky has repeatedly stated that he will be ready to meet with the Russian president only after the Russian troops have withdrawn from Ukraine.
IRAN FOLLOWS ANY MOVE OF ISRAEL IN REGION: KANAANI
Pointing to the malicious objectives of the fake regime of Israel in the region, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said that regional provocations of the Zionist regime are not hidden from Iran’s eyes, Tasnim reports.
In a tweet on Wednesday, Nasser Kanaani wrote that the regional movements of the Zionist regime will not remain hidden from the pervasive eyes of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The spider’s den (Israeli regime) is not reliable and the Zionists’ struggle to expand its regional presence will not help mend the shaky internal foundation of the fake regime, he said, posting a verse from Surah al-Hashr of the Holy Quran.
The Iranian diplomat added that the Zionist regime is hated by countries of the world and will have no future.
Earlier, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman noted that the fake regime of Israel is shakier than ever and the liberation of Palestine is closer than ever.
