LONDON, September 30. /TASS/. Serbia does not want a new war in the Balkans and has no intention to introduce forces in Kosovo, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told The Financial Times.
"How would that benefit Belgrade? What would be the purpose [of escalation]? To trample the position that we have been defending for an entire year? In just one day? Serbia does not want war," he said.
According to the FT, Vucic also underscored that Belgrade reduces its military presence at the Kosovo border instead of building it up, in order to reduce the risk of an escalation. According to the president, last year, there were about 14,000 Serbian servicemen at the Kosovo administrative border, while now this figure stands at 7,500 and will be reduced to 4,000.
"Claims that Serbia allegedly sends forces to the administrative border are a blatant lie," Vucic said. "Serbia would not benefit from it in any way, because that would have undermined its positions on the negotiations with Pristina that take place under the EU aegis," the president added.
On Friday, US National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby claimed that the US observes a significant deployment of Serbian forces along the border with Kosovo, including an "unprecedented" deployment of artillery, tanks and infantry. According to Kirby, Washington registers a "concerning round of escalation of tensions" in the region.