Petkovic: Pristina's decision to ban dinar aimed at ethnic cleansing of Serbs

BELGRADE - The director of the Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija Petar Petkovic met with Italian Ambassador to Belgrade Luca Gori on Friday, noting that it was clear Pristina's decision to abolish the Serbian dinar as the legal tender in Kosovo-Metohija was aimed at ethnic cleansing of Serbs.

Petkovic said Pristina's termination of payment transactions with central Serbia and the abolition of the dinar, announced for February 1, were an attempt to completely and definitely exclude Belgrade from the territory of Kosovo-Metohija and expel the Serbs from their ancestral homes in the Serbian province, the Office for Kosovo-Metohija said in a statement.

Petkovic noted that a ban on the dinar would lead to a humanitarian disaster because Serbs and Serbian institutions in Kosovo-Metohija operated thanks to funds coming from central Serbia.

"It is...