Djokovic writes political message about Kosovo on French Open digicam
In the fast aftermath of his 6-3 6-2 7-6 victory over American Aleksandar Kovacevic, he wrote on the video digicam in Serbian: “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia. Stop the violence.”
The state of affairs in Kosovo has been more and more fraught prior to now week. Serbia put its navy on excessive alert and introduced it was sending troops to the border.
And earlier on Monday, NATO peacekeeping troopers fashioned safety cordons round 4 city halls in Kosovo.
The transfer follows protests by Serbs within the nation, who make up a fraction of the inhabitants, after ethnic Albanian mayors have been elected into their positions in elections boycotted by the Serbian inhabitants.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 however Belgrade has refused to recognise Kosovo’s sovereignty.
Djokovic was reported as saying by Serbian media in his post-match press convention: “I am not a politician and I have no intention of getting into political debates.
“As a Serb, it hurts me a lot what is happening in Kosovo. The least I could do is this, I feel responsible as a public figure and the son of a man who was born in Kosovo. I feel the need to show support to all of Serbia. I don’t know what the future holds for the Serbian people and Kosovo but it is very necessary to show support.
“I am against wars and any conflict, I have always expressed this in public. I am very sorry that we are in the situation we are in. Kosovo is our hearth, our stronghold, the biggest battle took place there, the most important monasteries are located there.”