Serbia's Vucic tells Gendarmerie to be ready; promises higher salaries

Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic visited on Wednesday the Gendarmerie base in the central town of Kraljevo and told the police force to be ready, following the incidents in northern Kosovo earlier in the day.

"We will do our best not to be in such a situation and not to come to that position, but if the state calls on you to protect our people, I know you will not only respond but that you will perform a sacred duty in the most honourable way possible. Thank you very much for that," Vucic said.
He promised them higher salaries, housing, and the solution to other problems to give them and their children a secure future.

He added that Belgrade would preserve peace and stability "at almost any cost", but "if we have no way out, if we are attacked, if people are killed, as they almost were today, then we will have to protect our people."

"And when I tell you to protect our people, that means we will win. There is no surrender, no withdrawal," Vucic told the Kraljevo Gendarmerie Detachment.

He asked them to be ready, to work, to practice, and that the state would do its best to make life easier for them and their families.

Earlier, Vucic held a meeting with the Kosovo Serbs in southwestern Serbia, promising them Belgrade would always back them.