Pristina bans minister from visiting on Vidovdan

Pristina has decided to ban Serbian Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin from visiting Kosovo on Vidovdan, the Office for Kosovo and Metohija said on Wednesday.

Vidovdan (St. Vitus Day) is celebrated on June 28. An important religious feast and date for the Serbs, it, among other historical events, marks the day in 1389 when the Battle of Kosovo was fought between the Serbian Kingdom and the invading Ottoman Turks.

The Office on Wednesday condemned Pristina's decision and announced Vulin would have an urgent meeting with President Aleksandar Vucic, about whose content the public would be informed.

The Office also assessed that the decision was made in order to humiliate Serbia.

"It is clear that such a decision was made in coordination between Pristina and the EU External Action Service with the intention of humiliating Serbia," a press release said. It added that the decision was bad also because Pristina said at a meeting in Brussels last Sunday that they would respect the agreements reached so far.

"Minister Vulin's visit has been announced in accordance with established procedures and preventing it represents the crudest violation of the agreement on visits by officials, of which precisely the European Union is the guarantor," the statement said.

The Office also announced that representatives of "certain countries" in the past days tried to suggest to Serbian officials "what kind of messages should be sent on Vidovdan."