PM talks about "atmosphere of threats" preceding murder

In an interview for Radio Free Europe in the wake of the killing of the Serb politician in Kosovo, Brnabic pointed out that if Serbia was not allowed to participate in the investigation, it would launch one of its own.

"This is an extremely difficult day for the Republic of Serbia. We also held a session of the Council for National Security. The situation is tough, I hope it will remain calm, but this is definitely a huge blow to both Serbia and to regional stability and security," Brnabic said late on Tuesday.

She reiterated that the government officially demanded Serbia's participation in the investigation of this crime, and was awaiting the response from competent institutions.

"What is also important is that if we are not allowed to participate in the investigation, we will certainly launch our own," said Brnabic, adding that she continues to hope for reason and cooperation, and for Serbia being able to participate in the probe.

"During a session of the Council for National Security, we consulted the Security Information Agency and the Military Security Agency, and they will work together on this. The only thing that is important at this moment is to find the killers, bring them to justice and make those responsible answer for it," the prime minister said.

Asked whether "a separate investigation, considering that the Serbian Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation (preliminary investigative proceedings) into Ivanovic's murder - could be counterproductive for cooperation with Kosovo," Brnabic replied that finding the criminals was the only important thing.

"Does Serbia have a lot of confidence in the institutions in Kosovo and Metohija, that the perpetrators will be found? To be honest, I...