Albulena Haxhiu, Acting President of the Republic of Kosovo, has responded to statements by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Serbian Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabić. She said Serbian officials continue to deny Kosovo’s statehood and revive Serbia’s claims over its territory.
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In a Facebook post, Haxhiu stressed that the citizens of Kosovo are still waiting for answers about the fate of those forcibly disappeared during the war, while Vučić and Brnabić use rhetoric that, according to her, is rooted in the policies of Slobodan Milošević’s regime.
Haxhiu wrote that while the fate of those forcibly disappeared by the Milošević regime has still not been clarified, Vučić and Brnabić continue to make statements denying Kosovo’s statehood and reiterating Serbian claims over its territory. According to her, this perpetuates the language of denial, hatred and propaganda on which the chauvinist and expansionist policies of the Milošević regime were built.
In her full response, Haxhiu reiterated that the citizens of Kosovo are still waiting for the fate of those forcibly disappeared by the Milošević regime to be clarified, while Vučić and Brnabić continue making statements that deny the country’s statehood and revive Serbia’s claims over Kosovo’s territory.
She described these positions as a continuation of the rhetoric of denial, hatred and propaganda that served as the basis for the chauvinist and expansionist policies of the Milošević regime.
According to Haxhiu, Serbia cannot present itself as committed to peace and normalization as long as it fails to open its archives concerning missing persons, refuses to cooperate in shedding light on war crimes and continues to regard Kosovo as part of its territory.
She emphasized that acknowledging and addressing the past, together with respecting the sovereignty of neighboring countries, are essential prerequisites for establishing lasting peace in the region.
Haxhiu said the facts cannot be called into question: the Republic of Kosovo has been an independent state since February 17, 2008, while in 2010 the International Court of Justice found that its declaration of independence had not violated international law. She added that Kosovo is recognized by 121 countries, belongs to dozens of international organizations and mechanisms, and continues to strengthen its position on the international stage. According to her, political statements cannot change this reality.
The Acting President called on the US and the EU to unequivocally condemn this chauvinist, revisionist and inflammatory language. She said that territorial claims against a neighboring state and rhetoric reviving the narratives of the Milošević regime do not belong in 21st-century Europe and should not be treated as ordinary political statements.
In conclusion, Haxhiu stressed that the Republic of Kosovo is a democratic and sovereign state, founded on the will of its citizens and oriented toward Euro-Atlantic integration. She said that neither Vučić nor Brnabić, nor any failed ideology from the past, can undo this reality.
