BELGRADE -- Police blocked Serbian right-wing protesters who attempted to storm the building of the presidency in Belgrade on February 15 during a rally on Statehood Day against Serbia’s ongoing dialogue on normalizing relations with Kosovo.
Some of the estimated 1,000 protesters removed a protective fence around the building and headed toward its main entrance to submit their demands before they were stopped. Some participants threw eggs at the building.
Damjan Knezevic, leader of the far-right People's Patrol, which organized the protest, told the crowd that no one in the ruling Serbian Progressive Party "can call themselves a Serb."
The government is fearing riots, Knezevic said, adding, "I swear to you, we are ready for more than that."
The crowd shouted "Serbia! Russia!" and symbols of the Russian mercenary group Wagner and the letter Z for the Russian military were visible in the crowd. Some protesters shouted offensive messages about Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
Vucic held a meeting with the security services following the protest and said Serbia would not allow "thugs and extremists with any help from the outside -- the West or the East -- to threaten the constitutional order."
Vucic, who made the comment in an interview with Pink television, did not elaborate.
The organizers of the protest called on the authorities to withdraw from negotiations on the normalization of relations with Kosovo, a former province of Serbia that declared independence in 2008.
A Russian flag is unfurled at the far-right protest in Belgrade over the government's policy toward Kosovo on February 15.
Knezevic said participants "prefer the Russian proposal" for Kosovo, instead of a French-German one that is being used as the blueprint for the talks. Knezevic said he made the comment in English for the benefit of representatives of foreign media covering the protest.
A few hours before the event, the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs said that it had detained two people. A press release from the ministry said a weapon and ammunition were found on the individuals during their arrest.
The two people detained are members of the People's Patrol, the organization confirmed on Telegram.
People's Patrol is known for its anti-immigrant actions and events in support of Russia in Belgrade since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly a year ago.
Knezevic in November visited the Wagner Center in Russia, and the organization is behind the drawing of a mural in Belgrade in honor of Wagner.
Despite its status as a candidate for EU membership, Serbia refuses to impose sanctions on Russia and maintains good bilateral relations with Moscow.
U.S. and EU envoys have been pressing Belgrade and Pristina to approve a plan on normalizing relations presented last year under which Belgrade would stop lobbying against Kosovo having a seat in international organizations, including the United Nations.
One of the sticking points in the talks on normalizing relations has been the creation of an association of municipalities in Kosovo with a Serbian majority.
The European Union has expressed its readiness to help Kosovo and Serbia in the talks on forming the association.
EU spokesperson Peter Stano said the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia is the only platform where ideas and proposals about the association can be discussed.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier in a statement congratulating Serbia as it marked its Statehood Day that Kosovar and Serbian leaders will have to make "difficult compromises" to resolve outstanding issues and normalize their relations.
"I am confident that normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo will bring security and prosperity for Serbia and all citizens of the Western Balkans," Blinken said in the statement.
"Certainly, Serbian and Kosovan leaders will make difficult compromises to achieve these goals, but the rewards for the Serbian people -- and the entire region -- will be vast," Blinken said.