The rapporteur for Kosovo in the European Parliament, Riho Terras, called the statement by the member of the Serbian executive Snežana Paunović, who said a few days ago that if she had been in the place of the former leader Slobondan Milošević in 1998, she would have ethnically cleansed Kosovo, as a “shameful statement by a minister in office”.
“This statement really destroys the dialogue mediated by the EU for the normalization of Kosovo-Serbia relations”, underlined the Estonian MEP Terras in a post on the social network x.
Because of this statement, from which the Serbian president Aleksandër Vucic distanced himself and for which not only Kosovo but also the EU and other countries reacted strongly. Prishtina not only declared her non grata but also filed a lawsuit for inciting hatred against the Serbian Minister of State Administration and Local Self-Government.
53 deputies of the Serbian opposition have submitted a request to the Prime Minister of their country, Gjuro Macu, to dismiss Paunovic. A day ago, the European commissioner Marta Kos expressed shock at the statement, while emphasizing that it was unimaginable how Paunovic continued to exercise her duties as a minister in the Serbian government.
