Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić urged NATO to “do its job” in Kosovo or Serbia itself would act to protect the minority in the breakaway region, adding: “We have nowhere to go, we are surrounded, we will save our people.” from persecution and massacres if NATO does not wish it.

According to the Associated Press, President Vučić’s fiery speech follows the collapse of political talks between Serbian and Kosovo leaders earlier this week, brokered by the European Union in Brussels.

Serbia, along with Russia and China, refused to recognize Kosovo’s declaration of independence in 2008. A NATO-led intervention in 1999 ended the war between Serb forces and Kosovo separatists.

The European Union has overseen years of unsuccessful talks to normalize relations, saying it is one of the main preconditions for Kosovo and Serbia for eventual membership in the 27-nation bloc.