Ivica Dačić, Serbia’s deputy prime minister, has said that the Serbian flag “will fly over Prizren sooner or later,” a statement that has once again brought nationalist rhetoric and Belgrade’s continuing aspirations toward Kosovo into the spotlight.
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Similar statements by Serbian officials are not uncommon, as Serbia continues to use political language to express its claims over Kosovo, although the reality has changed since the declaration of independence on February 17, 2008.
Glauk Konjufca, the first deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs and diaspora, reacted to Dačić’s words, stressing that Serbia’s territorial ambitions toward Kosovo are not merely a relic of the past.
According to him, the statement made by Dačić at an election rally this week shows that Belgrade’s territorial ambitions continue to emerge through political rhetoric.
“Serbia’s renewed territorial ambitions toward the Republic of Kosovo once again came out into the open this week, when its deputy prime minister, Ivica Dačić, declared at an election rally that the Serbian flag ‘will fly over Prizren sooner or later,’ a city in southern Kosovo. Such rhetoric shows that Belgrade’s territorial ambitions are far from being a closed issue,” Konjufca said.
According to analysts, Dačić’s statement reflects nationalist rhetoric and electoral goals within Serbia. They assess that such words harm the spirit of normalizing relations between the two countries and that the European Union should intervene to protect Kosovo’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Haziri: Dreams of the Serbian flag in Prizren were destroyed in 1999 and 2008
Political analyst Nexhat Haziri, speaking to “Bota sot,” views Dačić’s statement as a message intended for domestic political consumption and as an effort to pursue electoral goals in Serbia.
Haziri stressed that such statements should not necessarily be regarded as serious threats to Kosovo.
“I believe that every statement coming from Serbian officials, especially those made during election campaigns, should not be considered a serious threat to Kosovo, including Dačić’s statement. We cannot control Dačić’s dreams or those of any other Serbian official, because Dačić himself does not believe what he says,” he declared.
He added that the purpose of the statement was to mobilize Serbian voters displaced from Kosovo to Serbia, while claims about the Serbian flag in Prizren have been rejected by history itself.
“This is simply a statement for domestic political consumption and electoral purposes, because Milošević’s successor in the Socialist Party aims to mobilize Serbian voters of Kosovo origin who live in Serbia. The Serbian flag over Prizren and Dačić’s other dreams, as well as those of others, received their answer in 1999 and were finally shattered on February 17, 2008,” he stressed.
Haziri also called for a firm response from Brussels, assessing that such rhetoric could affect the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue.
“Do such statements affect the dialogue process for normalizing relations between the two neighboring states? I believe they do, and for this reason Brussels must respond quickly and firmly as the mediator, by sanctioning politicians such as Dačić,” Haziri said.
Gashi: Dačić’s statement is an open challenge to Kosovo’s sovereignty
Political analyst Eduard Gashi believes that the words of a senior Serbian state official cannot be treated simply as nationalist rhetoric or a political provocation, but must also be viewed in the historical context and within the framework of relations between the two countries.
“The statement by Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Dačić that Serbia’s flag ‘will fly over Prizren sooner or later’ cannot be treated as a simple electoral provocation or ordinary nationalist rhetoric. When such a statement comes from a representative of the highest level of the Serbian state, it carries an entirely different political and diplomatic weight.
Ivica Dačić is not an incidental figure in Serbian politics. He is a politician with deep roots in the political structures of the era of Slobodan Milošević. Therefore, his statements should also be analyzed in the historical context of the policies that brought war, mass expulsions, crimes and extraordinary suffering to the people of Kosovo.
What is concerning is that Belgrade continues to use Kosovo as an instrument of nationalist mobilization, instead of facing the political and historical reality created after 1999.
The Republic of Kosovo is not a territory awaiting a return to Serbian administration. It is an independent state, declared on February 17, 2008, with democratic institutions, sovereignty and the inalienable right to decide its own future.
Moreover, in its 2010 advisory opinion, the International Court of Justice found that Kosovo’s declaration of independence did not violate international law,” he explained.
Gashi distinguishes between the legal assessment of Dačić’s statement and its potential political and security consequences, stressing that such rhetoric could be perceived as a challenge to Kosovo’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“In legal terms, the statement does not automatically constitute a direct threat to the use of military force. However, in political and security terms, it may be interpreted as a threatening message toward the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Kosovo.
In a region that has experienced the tragic consequences of nationalism and wars, the words of senior officials are never insignificant.
Serbia has the right to defend the legitimate interests of the Serbian community in Kosovo, but it has no right to use this as a justification for territorial claims or to challenge the security of a neighboring state.
Prizren is not a symbol of an unfinished territorial project by Belgrade. Prizren is an inseparable part of the Republic of Kosovo, a city of our history, culture, coexistence and national heritage,” he added.
Gashi called on the European Union and international partners to pay attention to such statements, stressing that dialogue and the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia must be based on respect for sovereignty and on avoiding rhetoric that fuels tensions.
“The European Union and international partners must treat such statements seriously, because the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia cannot be built on threats, territorial claims and the denial of Kosovo’s statehood reality.
Peace requires political responsibility, mutual respect and a willingness to abandon the rhetoric of the past.
The future of the Balkans cannot be built on dreams of restoring the borders of the past, but on respect for sovereignty, democracy and European cooperation.
Kosovo has chosen its path toward freedom, independence and Euro-Atlantic integration. This path cannot be determined by the nationalist statements of politicians in Belgrade,” Gashi concluded.
