Match incident assassination of relations' normalization

BELGRADE - Marko Djuric, director of the Serbian government's Office for Kosovo-Metohija, stated on Thursday that the incident which took place at the match between Serbia and Albania is an assassination attempt against normalization of relations.

The incident took place at a football match between Serbia and Albania at the Partizan Stadium in Belgrade on Tuesday evening when a flag with the insignia of 'Greater Albania' appeared over the pitch, sparking further incidents, which caused the match to be abandoned.

Serbian officials stated on Wednesday that this is a serious political provocation and an attempt to cause unrest in Serbia and instability in the region, while this unsporting behavior was euphorically celebrated by Albanians as a national victory.

Djuric said for Belgrade TV B92 that the statements by officials from Pristina and Tirana are irresponsible and harmful for Albanians themselves.

He warned that neither Serbs nor Albanians would benefit from continuation of the policy of hatred and conflicts, they rather need to address accumulated problems.

Djuric said that the match incident was followed by a series of incidents in Serb enclaves in Kosovo-Metohija - stoning of Serb houses, daubing graffiti and blasphemous messages on churches, while the Serbian flag was stripped from the fortress in Zvecan.

"All this are provocations, but we have remained collected in our reactions in order to avoid heightening of tensions. We do not want to fall for provocations," Djuric said, adding that responsibility will have to be determined for everything that happened at the match.

Djuric said that this incident is not changing Serbia's intention to improve living conditions for Serbs in...