Lithium mines in Serbia seem to be more of an impossible dream than a near reality.
The journalist of Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), Michael Martens, has made this clear in an analysis of the Kosovo issue and the prospects for the development of mining projects in the neighboring country.
Martens says that for a long time he has believed that the discourse on lithium should stop, as Serbia realistically does not have the political and social capacity to move forward with such a sensitive project.
“End of story. President Vučić simply cannot allow this process to continue, and this is nothing new. Since November it has been clear that lithium projects are unacceptable to the majority of Serbian citizens,” he emphasizes.
According to Martens, Vučić is trying to maintain legitimacy and support for himself in the face of citizen protests.
“If the lithium project were to be seriously launched, it would lose even more support, because lithium is a sensitive issue for a wide spectrum of Serbs – young and old, left and right, citizens of cities and villages. The politics of this project are simply unworkable,” Martens emphasizes.
The German journalist adds that a possible change of government in Belgrade would do nothing to allow the exploitation of lithium, quite the opposite.
“This project will not be realized. I have spoken at length about this and am preparing an article because some people in Germany still believe that the Jadar project will be realized, but this is completely unrealistic. Serbia would sooner recognize Kosovo than start exporting lithium,” he concluded, reports N1, broadcast by Telegrafi.