During a ceremony marking the promotion of 130 new Serbian Army officers, Serbian President Aleksandar Vuçiq repeated Belgrade’s claims over Kosovo while calling for Serbia’s military capabilities to be strengthened further.
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Addressing the new officers, Vuçiq said that Kosovo belongs to Serbia “according to the Constitution and God’s justice.” He urged them to “protect” what he described as “sacred.”
The statements prompted reactions, as they are seen as a continuation of official Belgrade’s rhetoric toward Kosovo. They came as the Kosovo–Serbia dialogue seeks to normalize relations and ease regional tensions.
Hoxha: Given these circumstances, Kosovo must exercise great caution
Security expert Valdet Hoxha believes that Serbian President Aleksandër Vuçiq continues to pursue policies that, in his view, endanger stability in the Balkans. He says Vuçiq combines participation in the dialogue with inflammatory language against Kosovo.
Speaking to “Bota sot,” Hoxha said the attacks in Banjskë and Ibër-Lepenc demonstrate that such statements cannot be ignored.
According to Hoxha, Serbian President Aleksandër Vuçiq is an authoritarian leader who continues to govern according to Slobodan Milošević’s model, pursuing policies and creating circumstances that threaten stability throughout the Western Balkans.
He believes Vuçiq is even more sinister than his mentor, Milošević. On the one hand, Hoxha said, he participates in the Kosovo–Serbia dialogue, signs numerous agreements and attempts to present himself as a “constructive” actor. On the other hand, through inflammatory language, public statements opposing recognition of the Republic of Kosovo and false narratives claiming that the Serbian community in Kosovo is supposedly at risk, he keeps warmongering rhetoric against Kosovo alive.
Hoxha says the terrorist attacks in Banjskë and Ibër-Lepenc show why Vuçiq’s nationalist and warmongering statements and rhetoric must not be overlooked. According to him, they were carried out by well-funded structures that were organized and trained in Serbia, as has also been established by investigations conducted by the Special Prosecution Office of the Republic of Kosovo with the assistance of security mechanisms from international partners.
The expert stresses that Serbia’s claims over Kosovo persist and that Pristina must therefore increase its defense capabilities, strengthen its army and deepen cooperation with international partners to guarantee security and stability.
He emphasizes that it is no secret that Serbia has had and continues to have territorial claims over Kosovo. According to him, this comes as no surprise because neither the political actors nor the hegemonic and genocidal policies in Serbia have changed, while the objectives of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo have not disappeared either.
Under these circumstances, Hoxha says, Kosovo must act with great caution in two areas. First, it must continue developing its defense capabilities by building an army in line with NATO standards and establishing a “Smart Defense” model with countries such as Albania, Croatia, Bulgaria and others. Second, it must strengthen its partnerships and coordinate strategic defense decisions not only with its strategic partner, the United States, but also with the United Kingdom and European Union countries that were allies in Kosovo’s liberation and state-building.
Racaj: Statements of this kind increase political and security tensions in the region
Prof. Dr. Muhamet Racaj, an expert on security, defense and geopolitics, views Vuçiq’s rhetoric on Kosovo as part of a political narrative aimed at keeping the Kosovo issue unresolved and exploiting it for Serbia’s domestic and foreign policy.
According to him, this approach increases tensions, harms the dialogue and undermines stability in the region.
Racaj said that Serbian President Aleksandar Vuçiq’s statements during the promotion of new Serbian Army officers cannot simply be regarded as ordinary political rhetoric. According to him, they embody the continuation of a state narrative aimed at keeping the Kosovo issue open and using it as an instrument of foreign and domestic policy. Such an approach, he added, runs counter to the spirit of dialogue, the principles of good-neighborly relations and the goal of long-term stability in the Western Balkans.
He said such statements heighten political and security tensions in the region. When the president addresses new officers by portraying Kosovo as part of Serbia and assigning the army a political mission, Racaj said, it sends a signal that may be interpreted as a challenge to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Kosovo. This does not serve peace but deepens mistrust and jeopardizes regional stability.
For Racaj, dialogue entails accepting the political reality and implementing international agreements. He told “Bota sot” that Serbia cannot claim to be committed to normalizing relations while its leadership continues to deny Kosovo’s statehood and uses rhetoric that contradicts the European Union-facilitated dialogue. According to him, this conduct undermines the credibility of the process itself.
Racaj notes that the modernization of the Serbian Army becomes concerning when accompanied by political rhetoric against Kosovo.
He adds that the treatment of the Kosovo issue in Serbian political discourse is also used for nationalist mobilization and the consolidation of power.
According to Racaj, every country has the right to develop its own defense capabilities. However, when military modernization is combined with political statements against a neighboring state and territorial claims, it takes on the character of pressure and intimidation. This becomes particularly alarming in a region marked by a history of conflict, where perceptions of threats directly affect collective security.
He says Kosovo remains the main issue used to mobilize Serbian nationalism. When political, economic or social difficulties arise, the Kosovo narrative is revived to divert public attention and rally the public around the political leadership. According to him, this tactic has been used for years and remains part of Serbia’s official discourse.
Racaj believes that numerous indicators show that linking the military to the political narrative surrounding Kosovo creates a climate of emotional patriotism, which is often used to increase support for those in power. He stresses that history has shown that exploiting national issues for domestic political purposes does not bring stability but instead generates unnecessary tensions and obstructs the development of stable relations in the region.
Finally, Racaj emphasized that dialogue, cooperation and respect for the sovereignty of states are essential to the stability of the Western Balkans.
Speaking to “Bota sot,” he concluded that the region needs leadership that promotes peace, dialogue and respect for international realities, rather than language that revives narratives from the past. According to him, regional stability rests on mutual respect, cooperation and recognition of state sovereignty, while any statement that calls these principles into question increases insecurity and harms the region’s European prospects.
