Absurd and empty threat” – Serbian publicist: Vučić’s plan to divert the Ibar, technically impossible and ridiculous

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has announced that his country is considering a project to shift the bed of the Ibar River within Serbia’s borders.

According to him, authorities in Belgrade have already mobilized a team of specialists on this issue.

During a statement to a Serbian media outlet on Sunday, Vučić also issued a warning, saying that after this action, the reaction and behavior of the Albanians will be seen.

“We have already called on field specialists – construction engineers and other professionals… While they are oppressing our people in this way, let’s try it. We have various motives to change the course of the Ibar and then we will see what the Albanians will undertake and how they will act,” he stated.

However, this is not the first time Vučić has mentioned this idea — he had held a similar position earlier.

In 2024, right after the sabotage act against vital infrastructure in Ibar-Lepenc, for which the Serbs themselves are suspected, he had claimed that Serbia had a project ready to divert the course of this river onto its own land.

Serbian publicist Zlatoje Martinov describes this as an irresponsible statement and an intimidation with no real basis.

According to him, it is a profound absurdity, which would furthermore cost Serbia dearly.

“This fits into a series of Vučić’s statements that have no connection to reality. Another hasty statement and empty threat. The claim that he will ‘change the course of the Ibar River’ is pure absurdity, because such an infrastructure undertaking requires extraordinary technical complexity and would cost Serbia billions of euros,” Martinov emphasizes to “Bota sot”.

He adds that his country is barely managing to secure the funds for Vučić’s grand project, “EXPO 2027”, where works have been delayed and the president himself is anxious whether the buildings will be completed by next summer.

Martinov also underlines that such an initiative would need the green light from the international community, which Vučić does not possess and could never obtain.

“Besides colossal funds and many years of technical work, shifting the bed of the Ibar and ‘destroying Lake Gazivoda’ requires the approval of Europe and the world — a consent that Vučić does not have and that no one can secure, as this would be considered a crime against the inhabitants of Kosovo, including the Serbs there whom he swears to protect,” the publicist argues.

In conclusion, he sees the Serbian president’s idea as more laughable than threatening, labeling it as “daydreams” of Aleksandar Vučić.

The importance of the Ibar’s flow for Kosovo is essential, as it is closely linked to the water system of Ujman/Gazivoda and the Ibar-Lepenc canal.

An intervention of this nature would not be merely a technical displacement, but an act with direct implications on Kosovo’s water and electricity supply, especially for the two energy giants Kosova A and Kosova B.

Consequently, the European Union has reacted to these claims by calling for the avoidance of statements and actions that do not contribute to the normalization process of relations between Kosovo and Serbia.

“Progress towards the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia can only be achieved through dialogue,” a European Commission spokesperson stated on August 11, adding that statements about possible changes to river courses and actions that do not serve this purpose should be avoided.