Zemaj condemns Dačić’s statements and calls for a firm response from NATO

Astrit Zemaj, Kosovo’s ambassador for relations with NATO, described Ivica Dačić’s statements about Kosovo as threatening and warned that they could undermine security and regional stability. He called on NATO and the relevant international institutions to treat the messages seriously.

In a Facebook post, Zemaj responded to Dačić, the leader of Serbia’s Socialist Party (SPS) and a minister in the Serbian government. On October 7, in Raška, Serbia, Dačić declared that “sooner or later, the Serbian flag will fly over Prizren” and repeated that Kosovo would never be independent.

According to Zemaj, these words go beyond political or electoral rhetoric: they constitute threatening nationalist language, deny Kosovo’s statehood and could fuel tensions in the region.

Zemaj linked this discourse to the era of Milošević, when aggressive Serbian nationalism led to wars, destruction and a humanitarian catastrophe in the Balkans. He recalled that Dačić’s SPS was part of Serbia’s government during Milošević’s wars, when Kosovo faced mass killings, expulsions and terror. More than 13.500 Albanians were killed during the 1998–1999 war.

The statement also says that NATO’s military intervention took place amid a humanitarian catastrophe and following crimes reaching genocidal proportions, with the aim of ending the violence and creating conditions for security and peace. Zemaj warned that territorial claims and intimidation must not become instruments of state policy.

He pointed out that the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo guarantees non-majority communities 20 seats in the Assembly, 10 of which belong to the Serbian community. According to him, the constitutional order also includes special mechanisms to protect communities and ensure their representation in public life; these are constitutional guarantees, not political promises. For this reason, Zemaj argues, the protection of Serbs cannot be used to justify the claim that Serbia should regain control over Kosovo.

Zemaj called for the issue to be brought to the attention of NATO’s senior military leaders and its missions in Kosovo: Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chairman of NATO’s Military Committee; General Alexus G. Grynkewich, Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR); Admiral George M. Wikoff, commander of Allied Joint Force Command Naples; Major General Özkan Ulutaş, commander of KFOR; and Thomas Schulte-Borghoff, director of NATO’s Advisory and Liaison Team (NALT).

He called on these structures to assess the rhetoric seriously, in line with their responsibility for regional security, and to provide a clear, firm and institutional response. According to him, the threatening messages must be examined and the concerns conveyed through the relevant NATO channels at NATO HQ in Brussels, SHAPE, AJFC Naples, KFOR and NATO-NALT.

Zemaj warned that a lack of response could create the impression that territorial threats are acceptable. He said that the Republic of Kosovo would remain here and that the country had aligned itself with the United States of America, NATO, the European Union and its allies, unlike Serbia, which he described as Russia’s proxy in the Balkans. According to him, Kosovo will continue to be a key partner in protecting peace, freedom and stability in the country and in this part of Europe.

In conclusion, Zemaj stressed that Kosovo is a state and that its freedom cannot be negotiated through threats, while the rights of communities are part of the constitutional order. He underlined that peace must be defended firmly before hate speech turns into actions that endanger citizens’ lives and regional stability.