Russian citizenship requested about 50 thousand Kosovo Serbs
“We are very dissatisfied with the negotiations between Pristina and Belgrade in Brussels. If they end as they began, it will mean the end of the Serbs in Metohija and Kosovo. At the same time, dual citizenship (Russian and Serbian) will prevent the increasing Islamization of the Kosovo Serbs”, said Djordjevic.
Djordjevic also noted that petitions for Russian citizenship had been submitted to the Russian embassy in early November at 21733. To date, activists have collected 50 thousand similar appeals.
Djordjevic said that volunteers bypass the homes of Serbs in various areas of Kosovo and ask residents about their desire to obtain Russian citizenship. If they have such a desire, the motives are clarified by volunteers. Passport details of such persons are recorded by activists.
At the same time, the Kosovo authorities put pressure on the elderly Kosovo Serbs, as well as on the residents of Serbian nationality living below the poverty line. Authorities want these people to become citizens of Kosovo, renouncing Serbian. In this case, they are promised pensions and social benefits, emphasizes Djordjevic.
He noted that the movement supports the provision of political support for the Serbian population of the region.
Serbs living in Kosovo hope, having received a Russian passport, to continue to live in the region, but at the same time enlist the support of Russia to protect their interests.
Last week, Sergei Lavrov, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said that the request of the Kosovo Serbs for citizenship of the Russian Federation is being studied. He also added that the motives of the Serbian appeal of Kosovo to the Russian side politically are well understood.
On November 17, Goran Bogdanovich, Minister for Kosovo and Metohija of the Serbian Government, said that the request for Russian citizenship made by 20 by thousands of Kosovo Serbs is "non-patriotic."
Recall that in February 17 2008 by the Albanian authorities of Kosovo, with the support of the United States and some European Union countries, was unilaterally declared independence from Serbia.
Serbia, Russia, and also a number of other states do not recognize the self-proclaimed state. Today, the Serbian community makes up 5-10% of the total population of Kosovo.
Information