Prime Minister Edi Rama has reacted for the first time after statements from Serbia about changing the course of the Ibar River. Through a post on the “X” platform, Rama has also responded to Belgrade’s accusations that Albania should not interfere in Serbia’s affairs, making Tirana’s position on Kosovo clear once again.
Rama emphasizes that Albania has no territorial claims against Serbia and that support for Kosovo is not linked to any project for a “Greater Albania”. According to him, Kosovo is a separate state, the Albanians of Kosovo have the Republic, institutions and their right to determine their future. He underlines that the territory of the Republic of Kosovo is not the territory of Serbia and that the natural resources located within it do not belong to Belgrade.
“There is a particular part of political folklore in Belgrade that seems immune to time: whenever Albania talks about #Kosovo, “Greater Albania” must be immediately invoked, as if repetition could one day transform an old ghost into a relevant argument. It will not. Albania has no claim on Serbian territory and has no need to invent one. Nor do we need a “Greater Albania” to support Kosovo. Kosovo is a separate state. Kosovo Albanians are exactly that: Kosovo Albanians. They have their own Republic, their own institutions, and their own right to determine their own future. We will always support this right. Serbia lost Kosovo. Repetition of what it did not lose might perhaps turn defeat into victory in the geography of political imagination, but unfortunately maps are less convenient,” Rama writes, among other things.
Focusing on the Ibar issue, Rama argues that the river is a transboundary water system and that Serbia can manage the resources within its territory, but cannot ignore the consequences that its actions may have for another state. At this point, he makes it clear that the river does not recognize political rhetoric nor historical claims.
Rama’s full post:
A very interesting exchange over the summer between our foreign ministers. Although I was expecting an answer on #Ibri, we somehow traveled from hydrology to international law, made the obligatory stop in “Greater Albania”, passed through “Kosovo and Metohija” and finally arrived at the well-known museum of Serbian historical anxieties.
There is a particular piece of political folklore in Belgrade that seems immune to time: whenever Albania talks about #Kosovo, “Greater Albania” must be immediately invoked, as if repetition might one day transform an old ghost into a compelling argument. It won’t. Albania has no claim on Serbian territory and has no need to invent one. Nor do we need a “Greater Albania” to support Kosovo. Kosovo is a state in its own right. Kosovo Albanians are exactly that: Kosovo Albanians. They have their own Republic, their own institutions, and their own right to determine their own future. We will always support this right. Serbia lost Kosovo. Repetition of what it did not lose might perhaps turn defeat into victory in the geography of the political imagination, but unfortunately maps are less than adequate.
The territory of the Republic of #Kosovo is not Serbian territory and the natural resources located within it are not resources of the Republic of Serbia. Our Serbian friends know this very well, including every time we sit together around European tables. So, let’s get back to the river. The original issue remains exactly where Albania left it: #Ibri is a transboundary water system. Serbia is completely free to manage the resources within its jurisdiction. What it cannot reasonably argue is that the potential consequences for another country magically stop at the Serbian border. This, after all, is why international water law exists. Rivers have the inconvenient habit of following geography instead of diplomatic talking points.
The situation of the Serbian community in Kosovo has also been mentioned. Their rights matter. Their security matters. Their property, language, cultural and religious heritage must be protected. Albania has never had any trouble saying this, because that is simply what a democratic state owes its citizens. And here we come to perhaps the most entertaining acrobatic maneuver in this exchange: warning Albania against ethnic expansionism while referring, in the same statement, to the territory of another sovereign state as if it were still Serbian. This is a rather long squared circle. Perhaps it operates within a political bubble in Serbia. Outside of it, the geometry becomes less tolerant. And yes, I could not agree more that the future of our region must be one where borders progressively lose their power to divide us. Absolutely. But there is one small prerequisite before borders become less important: the acceptance of those who are already there. The genius of the European project was precisely to separate national belonging from territorial appetite. The Albanians of Kosovo are Albanians of Kosovo. Albania will stand with them and with their Republic because we share history, language, families and a future, but above all because a free, democratic and secure Kosovo is a legitimate European state and an indispensable part of the stability of our region.
There is nothing clandestine about this position. There never was. There are no secret maps. There are no hidden borders. Nothing “big” is being asked for. Therefore, Albania’s position will remain exactly the same in public and private: we respect Serbia, we want good neighborly relations with Serbia, and we want the entire region within Europe – Serbia very much included. But good neighborliness cannot mean asking every neighbor of Serbia to forever pass into the Serbian version of history. The Balkans have already paid dearly, in blood and lost time, for that particular accommodation. Meanwhile, the #Ibri, completely unaware of our entire historical cartography, will continue to flow according to geography and not folklore.