“It is especially hypocritical that help is now being sought from NATO and the European Union, while at the same time turning their backs on Russia, a country that has firmly stood by Serbia and never questioned its territorial integrity or its non-recognition of so-called Kosovo.”
The August 19 conference as a counterexample
The statement also revisits the conference “The Suffering of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, UN Resolution 1244 and International Law,” held on August 19 at Serbia’s National Assembly and organized by the parliamentary group for national remembrance and suffering “It’s Time.” According to the movement’s statement, that gathering showed there is a policy that does not beg NATO to fix the consequences of its own concessions, but instead demands concrete measures.
“The recently held international conference ‘The Suffering of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, UN Resolution 1244 and International Law,’ organized by the parliamentary group ‘It’s Time,’ showed that there is a policy that does not beg NATO to fix the consequences of its own concessions, but instead demands the demilitarization of Kosovo and Metohija, the return of up to 1,000 members of Serbian security forces, protection of the rights of Serbia and Serbs, and the consistent implementation of Resolution 1244.”
The movement’s statement cites that figure of 1,000 returned security force members as a conclusion of the conference. Sputnik, which also reported from the same gathering on calls to abolish the Kumanovo Agreement and replace NATO forces with international forces, does not mention that specific figure in its own report, so it remains unclear whether it was a formal conclusion of the gathering or the movement’s own interpretation. According to available sources, speakers at the conference included Russian Ambassador Alexander Botsan Kharchenko, Nestorovic, former deputy speaker of Russia’s State Duma Sergei Baburin, lawyer Momir Radic, publicist Igor Ivanovic and Aleksandar Djikic, a professor at the University of Kosovska Mitrovica. The presence of representatives from 18 embassies and the United Nations is cited both in the movement’s statement and in Sputnik’s own report from the same event, so that detail is confirmed by two sources.
“And while this was being discussed in the National Assembly with representatives of 18 embassies and the United Nations, the pro-government media largely stayed silent. Even Kosovo Online, which primarily covers issues related to Kosovo and Metohija, did not see fit to pay attention to this event. It is apparently more important to follow the narrative of a self-absorbed president who today cries on the shoulder of the EU and NATO than to listen to those offering a different policy.”
Vucic: I believe Rutte will call me
Speaking about the letter on August 21, Vucic said he expects the NATO secretary general to call him on the phone, but that he still wanted a written record of his warning.
“I believe he will call me on the phone so we can talk. I wanted a written record to remain that I had warned of the consequences of the Albanian rampage and Kurti’s rampage, but I am quite certain I will get an answer.”
Asked about pressure on Serbs ahead of the elections, the president said he expects it. The movement’s statement concludes that Vucic is now asking others to protect Serbs from the consequences of a policy he himself created.
“Aleksandar Vucic is now asking others to protect Serbs from the consequences of the policy he himself created. That is why we call on him to stop presenting himself as an observer of his own policy and finally take responsibility for its consequences.”
As of this writing, neither the Serbian Presidency, the Government of Serbia nor the Serbian Progressive Party had responded to the Mi Snaga Naroda statement.
Who is Branimir Nestorovic, and where did his movement come from?
Mi Snaga Naroda is led by pulmonologist and publicist Branimir Nestorovic. The movement was formed in 2024, when the faction led by Nestorovic broke away from the earlier movement Mi, Glas iz Naroda, after its collective leadership refused to name him its president. Nestorovic confirmed his mandate as a member of parliament on February 6, 2024, from the electoral list “MI, GLAS IZ NARODA, prof. dr Branimir Nestorovic.” The Serbian language Wikipedia states that the parliamentary group in the National Assembly has six members, while the English language version of the same article lists five. In the Belgrade City Assembly, the movement holds ten of 110 seats, won with 59,805 votes, which, according to available sources, amounts to roughly 8.15 percent.
The movement’s earlier statements on Kosovo
This is not the first time Nestorovic’s movement has taken a sharp stance against the authorities’ policy on Kosovo and Metohija. When Vucic announced on August 10 a plan to redirect the flow of the Ibar River, the movement called the announcement a media stunt meant to cover up the consequences of a failed policy. Earlier, on February 29, 2024, when it was still called Mi, Glas iz Naroda, the movement condemned the Tirana Declaration the president had signed the day before, calling it a violation of Serbia’s principle of military neutrality that aligned the country with the side that had carried out aggression against it in 1999.