According to Blic reports, Macut pointed out that his cabinet is guided by a measured and responsible state line. “Personal opinions, whether clumsily expressed or taken out of context, no matter who said them, cannot be equated with the official position of the Government. Our platform is based on peace, on protecting national and state interests, on respect for international norms, on dialogue and on the full guarantee of human rights for all. Any attempt to present an individual statement as an expression of Serbia’s official policy is absolutely unfounded,” Macut is cited as telling Juronjuz.

He insisted that it is time to lower tensions and look at things calmly and logically. “I made it clear to Minister Snezhana Paunović that such claims are unacceptable. She has apologized for her words, even though she herself is a person expelled from Kosovo. I believe this matter should now be closed. Citizens expect work from us, not quarrels. Therefore, we will continue to focus on the tasks we perform for the good of Serbia,” the prime minister explained. He further added that it is not fair for a statement, immediately followed by an apology, to become a pretext to politically judge Serbia or to question the composition and activity of its Government. Serbia is committed to European values and sincere dialogue with allies, but in return it demands equal respect for the principles of mutual understanding, equality, and non-interference in internal affairs. I believe that partnership relations are built by applying the same standards uniformly to everyone, including Serbia,” Macut concluded.

Meanwhile, Professor Daniel Serwer from Johns Hopkins University in Washington reacted sharply to the shocking statement of Minister Paunović, who a few days ago said that if she had been in Slobodan Milošević’s position in 1998, she would have ethnically cleansed Kosovo. “If Vučić had even an ounce of disagreement in his body, he would fire her immediately. This statement is as condemnable as it is difficult to describe. I could never have imagined such a thing,” Serwer declared for N1 television in Belgrade.

Czech MEP Tomas Zdechovsky also described Paunović’s statement as intolerable and called for Serbia to be excluded from EU accession talks.

On the other hand, Kosovo’s acting Minister of Justice, Donika Gërvalla, has filed a criminal complaint against the Serbian minister. Through official channels, Gërvalla announced that she requested the State Prosecutor to open investigations and prepare an indictment, also seeking punishment from the relevant court.

Kosovo’s acting minister, Andin Hoti, compared Paunović to former Serbian leader Slobodan Milošević, stressing that any attempt at ethnic cleansing in Kosovo would end the same way. “Your ideological teacher, Milošević, tried the same thing in Kosovo. He ended up before international justice, and Serbia withdrew from Kosovo in disgrace. The response of the Kosovo people, the Liberation Army, and the democratic world is known. Kosovo remained free. Milošević ended up as a war criminal. You would have the same fate, and you will have it every time you try,” Hoti wrote.

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Senior officials from Germany and the European Union condemned the position, calling it unacceptable and demanding her removal from office.

Michael Gahler, a German Member of the European Parliament from the European People’s Party (EPP), stressed that such statements cannot be ignored when they come from a minister of a country seeking EU membership.

“Such statements by a minister of a candidate country cannot be ignored: on July 11, Serbian Minister Paunovic said in a television interview that, if she had been in Milosevic’s position in 1998, she ‘would have ethnically cleansed Kosovo of Albanians.’”

“I expect her to be dismissed from office,” Gahler wrote on platform X.

Jasmina Hostert, a German Bundestag member for the Böblingen constituency, also reacted to the Serbian minister’s remarks. According to her, Paunovic’s statement constitutes a violation of human rights and international law.

“It is unacceptable. Anyone who justifies ethnic cleansing is mocking the victims of the Kosovo War and violating human rights and international law,” Hostert wrote.

She also called for Paunovic’s removal from office.

“There must be no place for such words in a democratic government; they harm peace in the Western Balkans. The minister must resign,” the German lawmaker stated.

Adis Ahmetovic, a Bundestag member for Northern Hanover, also responded.

“The countries of the Western Balkans belong in the European Union. This includes Serbia. But a spirit of nationalism and hatred emanating from certain governments has no place in our European community of values,” Ahmetovic wrote.

According to him, Belgrade should respond to the matter by immediately dismissing Paunovic.

The European Commission also issued a statement. Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said she could not imagine Paunovic remaining a minister after such “terrible” statements.

Meanwhile, Kosovo’s institutions have declared Snezhana Paunovic persona non grata.

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Jasmina Hostert, a member of the German Bundestag representing the Boblingen district, said that Serbian Minister Snezhana Paunovic had claimed she would have ethnically cleansed Kosovo in 1998.

“This statement is unacceptable. Anyone who justifies ethnic cleansing is mocking the victims of the Kosovo War and violating human rights and international law.

There should be no room for such statements in a democratic government; they harm peace in the Western Balkans. The minister must resign,” Hostert wrote.

Adis Ahmetovic, a member of parliament representing northern Hanover, also said that Belgrade must send the right signal by immediately dismissing Minister Paunovic.

“The countries of the Western Balkans belong in the EU. This includes Serbia. But the spirit of nationalism and hatred emanating from some governments has no place in our European community of values. It hinders the process of the EU’s growth and strengthening,” Ahmetovic wrote.

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Rama u shpreh se pretendimi që çdo person me zë publik, institucion apo autoritet duhet t’i përgjigjet çdo idiotësie të thënë në serbisht, madje edhe kur ajo vjen nga personazhe ekzistencën e të cilëve më parë e njihnin vetëm familjarët, dëshmon mungesë respekti ndaj vetes dhe vendit nga ata që ngrenë alarmin dhe kërkojnë llogari se përse nuk ka reaguar njëri apo tjetri.

Sipas kryeministrit, qëndrimi i Shqipërisë është përcjellë përmes ministrit të Jashtëm, ashtu siç vepron një shtet që respekton veten. Ai shtoi se kush pret që vendi të shndërrohet në një kor histerik sa herë që një “çyryk” shfaqet në Beograd dhe flet përçart, ka trokitur në adresën e gabuar.

Në fund, Rama iu referua edhe reagimeve të ardhura nga Tirana, duke thënë se mjafton të shohësh se si disa gjejnë një “kalë të ngordhur” për të marrë poza luftëtarësh në front, që të kuptosh përse kategoria e tyre meriton vetëm keqardhjen e radhës. Ai shtoi se, nëse dikush dëshiron të qeshë me ta, duhet të gjejë edhe kohën për t’i lexuar.

The post Deklarata e ministres serbe, Rama: Shqipëria reagoi si shtet, nuk kthehemi në kor histerik për çdo çyryk në Beograd appeared first on Albeu.com.

The initiative was submitted by the parliamentary group Free Citizens’ Movement – SDA of Sandzak and the Party for Democratic Action, with the support of other opposition MPs.

“The prime minister has the political and institutional responsibility to respond and demonstrate that there is no place in the Government of Serbia for a minister who defends ideas of expelling people based on their national affiliation and promotes actions outside the law and judicial procedures,” Kamberi wrote.

He said that Gjuro Macut, if he does not propose Paunovic’s dismissal, will bear responsibility for the continuation of her mandate in the post, as well as for the normalization of such a policy within the Government of Serbia.

“Unfortunately, our initiative was not supported by the national minority parties that are part of the government. Therefore, the dismissal of Minister Paunovic was supported neither by Zukorlic’s Bosniak party, nor by Ljajic’s Bosniak party, nor by Pastor’s Hungarian party!” he stated.

According to KosovaPress, Paunovic said on Serbian television channel “Kurir” on Saturday that, if she had the freedom of action that Slobodan Milosevic had in 1999, she would have “ethnically cleansed Kosovo.”

The statements have prompted reactions in Kosovo, the region and the EU.

Andin Hoti, the acting minister in the Government of Kosovo, compared the Serbian minister to former Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic, stating that any attempt at ethnic cleansing in Kosovo would end in the same way.

According to Hoti, people who call for ethnic cleansing are not only a threat to Kosovo, but demonstrate that Serbia has still not abandoned what he describes as “Milosevic’s genocidal ideology” and the policy that produced wars, massacres and “historic shame.”

The Institute for Crimes Committed During the War (ICCW) also responded, assessing that the Serbian minister’s statement revives discourse linked to the policies responsible for war, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity in Kosovo.

The ICCW stressed that crimes committed during 1998-1999 have been addressed in international judicial proceedings, in which senior political, military and police officials of the Milosevic regime were found guilty. According to the Institute, confronting the past, acknowledging the crimes and offering an institutional apology are prerequisites for building trust and lasting peace in the region.

Meanwhile, Serbia’s opposition has called for Paunovic to be removed from her ministerial post.

The Free Citizens’ Movement (PSG), a Serbian opposition party, called for her immediate dismissal, describing the statement as hate speech and open support for persecution on ethnic grounds.

According to PSG, an official who justifies the expulsion of people because of their national affiliation cannot hold office in the Government of Serbia. The party stressed that the case is even more troubling because the statement was made by the minister responsible for public administration and local self-government, an institution that must ensure equal treatment for all citizens and respect for the Constitution and the law.

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Through her official profile, Gervalla announced that she had asked the Office of the Chief State Prosecutor to carry out all investigative actions and proceed with an indictment, as well as seek a sentence from the competent court.

According to her, such statements are linked to the grave historical consequences left by the last war in Kosovo.

“Today I filed a criminal complaint against Snezhana Paunovic. The Republic of Kosovo does not remain silent and never bows to the language of hatred, calls for and incitement to division and intolerance. There is no room for the glorification of ethnic cleansing, the relativisation of genocide and monstrous Serbian crimes, or the spread of narratives aimed at undermining peace, security and interethnic coexistence. Public statements intended to justify ethnic cleansing and the expulsion of a people cannot be treated as ordinary political rhetoric. They carry grave historical, legal and human consequences. For this reason, in my capacity as Minister of Justice, I requested that the Office of the Chief State Prosecutor, within its legal powers, undertake all investigative actions and proceed further with an indictment and a request for the competent court to impose a sentence. Serbia has still not apologised for the crimes committed against our people during the war in Kosovo,” Gervalla wrote.

On July 12, 2026, in an interview with the Serbian media outlet “Kurir”, Paunovic, in her capacity as a minister in the Serbian government, stated: “If I were Slobodan Milosevic, I would have carried out the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo in 1998.”

Following the statement, Acting Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla declared Paunovic persona non grata, permanently banning her from entering or transiting through Kosovo.

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The decision came after her statement several days earlier that, had she been in Slobodan Milosevic’s position, she would have ethnically cleansed Kosovo in 1998.

Paunovic has been permanently banned from entering or transiting through the territory of the Republic of Kosovo. Her statement was also strongly condemned by acting Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla, who described it as a continuation of a state policy that, he said, for decades had brought violence, crimes and attempts to eradicate Albanians from their lands.

In a Facebook post, Svecla announced that he had signed the decision declaring the Serbian minister an undesirable person.

“As Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kosovo, today I issued a decision through which I declared Snezhana Paunovic persona non grata, undesirable, with a permanent ban on entry into or transit through the Republic of Kosovo. The era when Albanians were oppressed, massacred and ethnically cleansed has ended once and for all,” Svecla wrote.

He stressed that the Serbian minister’s rhetoric was unacceptable and incited hatred, calling for it to be condemned by all states.

According to Svecla, any attempt to revive ideologies of ethnic cleansing or threaten the Republic of Kosovo will receive a “firm, legal and institutional response.”

Naim Miftari, a KLA wartime fighter and commander, as well as a former KPC superior after the war, also spoke to “Bota so” about Paunovic’s statement.

Miftari said that the minister of what he calls the fascist state of Serbia had been fortunate, linking this also to the theft of funds by a clan of thieves.

“How fortunate you are, Minister Snezhana Paunovic of the fascist state of Serbia. You are fortunate because almost more than 90% of the war funds collected from our Albanian compatriots were stolen by Serbia’s allies, by the 3% clan of thieves, led by Bujar Bukoshi. Likewise, the ‘Homeland Calls’ fund was stolen by another clan, led by Hashim Thaci,” Miftari said.

He further stated that Serbia had also been fortunate, in his view, because the KLA was not allowed by other countries to arm itself with military weapons and fought mainly with personal weapons.

“Your greatest fortune, Serbia, was that your people managed to divide our clean war. Another stroke of fortune for you was that NATO and countries such as America, France, Germany and Great Britain did not allow the KLA to arm itself with military weapons, but it fought mainly with personal AK-47 weapons and armaments from Albanian territorial reserves from the 1960s and 1970s, often with only a few dozen bullets,” the former fighter stressed.

In conclusion, Miftari said that another stroke of fortune was that KLA members did not stain their hands with the blood of Serbian civilians.

“Once, the KLA tried to break through in Koshare to link the front with the Dukagjin Zone and, immediately, NATO’s French Mirage aircraft bombed KLA positions, killing dozens of volunteer soldiers, out of fear that the Albanian people might win the war on their own and would not remain dependent on the international community, which, according to you, was largely pro-Serbia.

And fortunately, KLA soldiers did not soil their hands with the blood of your civilians, did not kill Serbian civilians, did not rape Serbian women, did not disappear thousands of bodies of Serbian civilians, did not carry out ethnic cleansing and did not execute Serbian civilians and prisoners,” Miftari concluded.

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In a Facebook post, Sveçla confirmed he had signed the order that closes the doors forever to the Serbian minister responsible for Public Administration and Local Self-Government.

According to him, Paunoviq’s words reconfirm an old reality: official Belgrade has never distanced itself from the project of exterminating Albanians. “In our time, her former leader, Slobodan Milošević, known as the butcher of the Balkans, tried to carry that out,” he wrote.

The minister further stressed that any attempt to revive ideologies of ethnic cleansing or to intimidate the state of Kosovo will be met with a firm and institutional stance.

Regarding this development, Austrian expert Gunther Fehlinger gave a statement to “Bota sot”, describing the minister’s remark as completely unacceptable. In his view, it clearly shows that Serbia cannot advance toward the European Union and NATO without radically breaking away from the language of ethnic cleansing and coming to terms with its past.

Fehlinger said there is no circumstance that justifies ethnic cleansing and that a minister who publicly expresses regret for not carrying out such an act displays values that clash with the foundations of the EU and NATO. In his analysis, this political approach remains stuck in the Milošević era instead of paving the way for the democratic and peaceful future that Serbian citizens deserve.

He added that part of the political elite in Serbia still refuses to confront the war crimes of the 1990s, showing insufficient remorse and tolerating dangerous nationalist rhetoric. While welcoming the condemnation expressed by the European Union, Fehlinger warned that words are not enough. As long as senior Serbian officials promote or appear to justify ideas of aggression against neighbors, he argued, the country cannot credibly walk the European or Euro-Atlantic path.

The Austrian expert then proposed a strategic response quite different from slowing down enlargement. He advocates for a big wave of EU membership in 2029, bringing in simultaneously Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Moldova, Albania, Montenegro and North Macedonia. In parallel, he insists Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina must move with confident steps toward NATO to ensure long-term stability in the Western Balkans.

Singling out Kosovo’s case, Fehlinger assessed that over a quarter-century of close cooperation with the EU, NATO and other partners has sufficiently prepared the country for the next steps in the integration process.

Finally, he conveyed a sharp message: Europe must embrace states that respect democracy and the rule of law, while governments whose representatives continue to use the language of ethnic cleansing must face political isolation. “Serbia must be isolated now. Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina should join NATO and the European Union by 2029,” Fehlinger concluded.

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The European Union also reacted to this scandalous stance. Although European Commission spokesperson Anitta Hipper explained that the institution does not usually comment on individual politicians’ statements, she reiterated that the bloc’s principles are unwavering. According to her, no form of language that supports, justifies or downplays war crimes and ethnic cleansing is tolerated on the European continent.

The European official stressed that respect for fundamental human rights, the promotion of peace and the reconciliation process in the region are pillars of EU values, describing all expressions that run counter to them as unacceptable.

On the matter, Albanian lawyer Spartak Ngjela gave an interview to the newspaper “Bota Sot”, in which he sharply criticized the Serbian minister’s stance. According to him, Brussels’ response confirms that Kosovo’s liberation war is viewed as a just conflict and that the EU rejects every narrative or policy from Belgrade that challenges the independence of Europe’s newest state.

“This proves that the European Union regards the Kosovo war as a legitimate battle for national freedom, fully consistent with human rights,” Ngjela stressed, adding that for this reason Serbian anti-independence positions are entirely unacceptable to the union.

The lawyer described Paunovic’s statements as evidence of a dangerous continuation of the mentality of the Milosevic regime. He characterized this approach as a profound intellectual backwardness among certain Serbian circles, which, he said, have continued for two centuries to spread untruths against Albanians.

“That minister is simply a worthless remnant of the Milosevic era,” Ngjela said, describing Kosovo’s independence as a major achievement for the Albanian nation. He described Kosovo as the historic trophy of a victory against a centuries-long and brutal occupation in the lands of Dardania, concluding that Albanians today are enjoying their most important historical success.

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More than 30 years after Serbia’s attempts to exterminate and expel Albanians from Kosovo, the mindset of the regime from that period is, according to assessments, still present.

Three decades later, the ideology and narrative associated with Slobodan Milosevic continue to be voiced publicly.

In an interview with a Serbian television station, Snezhana Paunovic, Serbia’s Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, said: “If it had been Slobodan Milosevic, I would have ethnically cleansed Kosovo in 1998.” With this statement, she openly articulated what Milosevic attempted to carry out in 1999.

Acting Minister for Labour, Family and the Values of the Liberation War Andin Hoti reacted by saying that calls for ethnic cleansing show that Serbia has still not broken away from Milosevic’s ideology. He stressed that Kosovo’s and the democratic world’s response to such attempts is already known: Kosovo remained free, while Milosevic ended up as a war criminal and, according to him, Paunovic would face the same fate.

Professors and geopolitical experts consider Paunovic’s statement an expression of Serbia’s official thinking and position.

Arben Fetoshi, director of the Octopus Institute, described it as a continuation of the criminal logic of Serbian policy, which, according to him, is still based on hegemonic ambitions not only toward Kosovo. Referring to the Serbian World project, he said the statement should prompt clear and strong condemnatory reactions from the EU, the United States and all those actors who put Milosevic in his place in 1998-1999.

Geopolitics professor Dorajet Imeri assessed that the fact that a Serbian minister, 25 years after Milosevic and the period of genocide and ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, expresses such a position shows that it represents Serbia’s official stance toward Kosovo. According to him, Paunovic was appointed to the Government of Serbia and represents the Serbian state, therefore her statement is the position of the Serbian state.

While Serbian officials continue to publicly express claims over Kosovo, President Aleksandar Vucic has supported Porfirije, the patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The latter was sentenced to four months in prison, suspended, by a court in Slovenia on charges of mistreating a priest in the workplace.

Imeri said that Serbian policy uses structures and groups similar to those of Radoicic and Veselinovic, while the patriarch is also involved on the other side. According to him, this clearly reveals the face of Serbia and its ambitions.

Fetoshi said that this very institution blessed internationally known criminals Karadzic and Mladic for the war in Bosnia, and today continues the narrative of sacralising Serbia’s hegemonic policy toward Kosovo.

In Pristina, it is assessed that the articulation by senior officials of ideas about ethnic cleansing and territorial claims against Kosovo, together with the support that the Serbian leadership gives to religious and political institutions, constitutes a continuation of an old hegemonic policy.

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