BELGRADE, April 19. /TASS/. The provisions of the Brussels Agreement should be implemented; otherwise, a war may break out, similar to what transpired with "certain other agreements," Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said at a joint press conference with Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom in Belgrade on Wednesday.
"Today is the 10th anniversary of the Brussels Agreement. <...> This is the obligation that has existed since April 19, 2013. In order for us not to end up in a similar situation to what transpired with certain other agreements when wars subsequently broke out because, as some European leaders have said, it was all make-believe and a ploy to stall for time, they (the leaders of unrecognized Kosovo - TASS) should fulfill their obligations. We may be dumb in Serbia, but not to that degree, and we had the opportunity to learn from others, what it looks like worldwide. We expect that you (Pristina - TASS) will fulfill what you have to [fulfill] and then we, with great pleasure, will demonstrate how reliable we are as partners and how much we want to accomplish what we’ve promised," the Serbian leader said.
Vucic emphasized that Serbia would implement everything the sides had agreed upon within the framework of the French-German negotiation plan between Belgrade and Pristina, but the Balkan country would "not support unrecognized Kosovo’s membership in the UN" or any other international organization.
In an interview with the Zeit newspaper published on December 7, 2022, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the Minsk Agreements were "an attempt to give time to Ukraine. It also used this time to become stronger as can be seen today. The Ukraine of 2014-2015 is not the modern Ukraine." According to the former German leader, "it was clear to everyone" that the conflict had stalled and the problem had not been resolved, "yet this was precisely what gave Ukraine invaluable time." She expressed doubt that at that time NATO members would have been able to support Kiev to the extent that they do now. Later, ex-French President Francois Hollande confirmed Merkel’s statements that the Minsk accords were necessary to give Kiev time to prepare for an armed conflict.
The First Agreement of Principles Governing the Normalization of Relations between Belgrade and Pristina, informally known as the Brussels Agreement, was concluded on April 19, 2013. This document stipulates the creation of the Community of Serb Municipalities, a self-governing body for Serbs living in unrecognized Kosovo. Vucic repeatedly stated that his country had implemented its part of the Brussels Agreement, whereas the Kosovars only started to draft the Community’s charter but then suspended the process.