The President of Serbia says that on August 14 or 15 the bridge in Mitrovica will be opened "violently"

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, has declared that he expects "provocations" in Kosovo. 

In a press conference where the Minister of the Interior, Ivica Dacic, was also present, he disclosed claims that Kosovo will try to open the bridge by force.

"Also, I have to tell you the fact that we expect further provocations in Kosovo. On August 14 or 15, we expect the violent opening of the bridge. At the same time, foreign agencies will try to impose some new Serbian leaders, who will support them, portray them as brave when they are not, try to separate them from Belgrade and they say that Belgrade is not interested, and they tell and then agree with Kurt how and in what way they become his servants, when in fact they work for foreign interests. And I'm telling you for the 1000th time that this will not work."

In the conference, which was called as a reaction to the biggest protests in all of Serbia regarding the EU-Serbia agreement on the extraction of lithium, President Vučić called on KFOR to insist on not opening the bridge.

"But I only call on KFOR to react and not allow the opening of the bridge unilaterally exactly as they have said so far, because we have respect for KFOR and believe that it should do its job ".

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The Speaker of the North Mitrovica Municipal Assembly, Nexhad Uglanin, has said that Vucic's efforts to present false insinuations should not be taken seriously.

Currently, works are being carried out in the vicinity of the bridge, since the graffiti containing hate speech and Serbian symbols have been erased and some of the surfaces have been covered with color.

The international community has asked the Government of Kosovo to refrain from unilateral and uncoordinated actions that could jeopardize the security of Kosovo. 

The ambassadors of the QUINT countries and the European Union have declared against the opening of the bridge. 

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There have also been calls not to take unilateral actions from the administration of the White House and from the president of France, Emmanuel Macron.  

KFOR, in a statement issued last week specifically regarding the technical tests for the stability of the bridge, has stated that it is ready to use force in accordance with its mandate in the event that security is endangered.