Serbia’s Interior Minister, Ivica Dačić, clarified today that he “never said, nor would say, that Serbia, President Aleksandar Vučić, or he himself were tricked into signing the Brussels Agreement.”
In a statement issued on 28 July, Dačić said his previous comments referred only to the implementation of the agreement, stressing that “Prishtina has not fulfilled its obligations, with the tacit support of the EU and the United States.”
On 27 July, during an appearance on Radio Television of Serbia (RTS), Dačić sparked backlash by saying that Serbia had been deceived when signing the Brussels Agreement, leading to harsh criticism from parts of the opposition. The Freedom and Justice Party (SSP) even demanded the resignations of Dačić and Vučić, who was Serbia’s First Deputy Prime Minister at the time of signing.
Dačić, who as Prime Minister signed the 2013 Brussels Agreement on normalizing relations with Kosovo under EU mediation, insisted:
“We signed that agreement fully aware of its importance, its articles, and the obligations arising from it.”
He added that both Serbia and its international partners genuinely intended to move toward normalization, “but with strict respect for all obligations — on both sides.”
Twelve years later, many provisions remain unimplemented, with Belgrade and Pristina blaming each other for the deadlock.
“When I say today that we were deceived, I don’t mean we didn’t know what we were signing. I mean we were deceived in the implementation,” Dačić explained.
He emphasized Serbia does not shy away from dialogue or compromise, but called on the EU to remain neutral and the US to stop applying double standards.
“There is a red line — not geographical, but moral, historical, and national. If it’s crossed, the responsibility won’t be Serbia’s, but of those who pushed us to that line,” he warned, without specifying what the “red line” is.
So far, Brussels has not commented on Dačić’s remarks.
