Haxhiu condemns Vučić’s idea of diverting the Ibër River as chauvinist and destabilizing

Kosovo’s Acting President Albulena Haxhiu has responded to the idea, reiterated by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, of diverting the course of the Ibër River, describing it as “absurd,” “threatening” and “chauvinist.”

During the Kosovo Ambassadors’ Conference on August 10, Haxhiu called on Kosovo’s diplomats to convey Vučić’s statements to the governments of the countries where they are accredited. She also requested that the issue be addressed in cooperation with international partners.

According to her, any intervention in the course of the Ibër could have serious consequences for Kosovo, as the river and the water infrastructure connected to it are essential for the country.

“As you know, the Ibër-Lepenc (irrigation canal) and Lake Ujman are part of a vital system for water supply, energy, agriculture, and the lives of hundreds, thousands of citizens of Kosovo,” Haxhiu said.

Haxhiu stressed that the use of water resources to exert pressure on Kosovo cannot be accepted.

“We must make it clear that using water resources as an instrument of pressure against Kosovo is unacceptable, and that ideas that revive chauvinist and destabilizing approaches toward Kosovo must receive the appropriate international attention and response,” she said.

Her reaction came a day after Vučić’s statements, who said on August 9 that Serbia had taken concrete steps to examine the possibility of diverting the Ibër’s course. He made the comments during a visit to a workshop in Belgrade.

“We have already invited the experts dealing with this issue, the construction sector, engineers and others. Since they are tormenting our people so much, let us see—we have various reasons for diverting the Ibër’s course, and then we will see what the Albanians will do and how they will behave,” Vučić declared.

On Monday, the Serbian president returned to the subject, claiming that he was not threatening anyone and that he was dealing only with waterways within Serbia’s territory.

“Now, of course, the scientists, engineers and everyone else will sit down, examine the issue and propose to me how this can be carried out, and that is all. I have not threatened anyone. I am not Kurti, threatening people. I am not threatening anyone. We will simply deal with our own problems. We have our own interests and we are dealing with them,” Vučić told the media, according to a quote carried by the Serbian agency Tanjug.

The issue of diverting the Ibër’s course has not been raised for the first time. In December 2024, following the explosion that damaged the Ibër-Lepenc canal in Zubin Potok, Vučić said that such an idea had existed since 1985, with the aim of meeting the needs of the population in Serbia.

However, he said at the time that he himself had opposed its implementation.

Approximately 270 kilometers long, the Ibër River rises in Montenegro, flows through Serbia and continues into Kosovo, where it empties into the artificial Lake Ujman. Two-thirds of the lake’s surface lies within Kosovo’s territory.

The Ujman system supplies water to seven municipalities, serves for irrigation and is used to cool the power plants in Obiliq, which produce most of Kosovo’s electricity.

Experts previously interviewed by Radio Free Europe assessed that diverting the Ibër’s course is technically feasible, but would require extremely high costs. If such an action caused damage to Kosovo, it would contravene the principles of international law governing transboundary waters.

Serbia is a signatory to the 1997 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses.

Among other things, the convention establishes the principle of equitable and reasonable use of transboundary waters, as well as the obligation not to cause significant harm to other states. Kosovo is not a party to this convention because it is not a member of the United Nations.