Vučić on the flow of the Ibar River: It is our internal issue, I don't know what it has to do with Albania

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has said that the issue of diverting the flow of the Ibar River is "Serbia's internal issue." He told Serbian television station RTS that he does not know what connection "the Ibar River has with Albania." 

"It's our internal matter. I don't know what connection Ibri has with Albania," Vučić said. 

The threatening statement of Serbian President Vučić about the possibility of changing the course of the Ibar River has been assessed as chauvinistic and destabilizing by the acting President of Kosovo, Albulena Haxhiu. In his reaction, the Foreign Minister of Albania, Ferit Hoxha, said that water cannot be used as an instrument of political pressure or as a means to punish a country.

"Serbia has been a party to the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes since 2010 and has also accepted its dispute resolution mechanisms. Albania expects Serbia to fully respect its international obligations and the principles of good neighborliness... Water cannot be used as an instrument of political pressure nor as a means to punish another country or population. Albania strongly supports Kosovo's right to security, sustainable development and the protection of its water resources," Minister Hoxha wrote.

The Serbian president in his statement did not hide the purpose of the idea for the Ibar, saying that "since Serbs are being mistreated in Kosovo, by changing its course we will see what the Albanians will do and how they will behave." The same, even in December 2024, after the terrorist attack on the Ibar-Lepenc canal, said that the idea of ​​changing the course of the Ibar has existed since 1985. 

"We have already invited experts who deal with this issue, the construction sector, engineers and others. Since they are mistreating our people so much, let's see, we have different reasons for changing the course of the Ibar, and then we will see what the Albanians will do and how they will behave," Vučić declared on August 9 during a visit to a workshop in Belgrade.

Vučić was asked about the KFOR issue.  

also Arberi 12 August 2026 For the fourth time in three days, Vučić threatens again with Ibri

After more than two decades, KFOR has begun to change the way it provides security at two important points in Kosovo. The Kosovo Police is gradually being integrated into the security of the Deçan Monastery, while KFOR has begun the gradual withdrawal of its permanent presence from the Ibar Bridge in Mitrovica. Both processes, according to KFOR, will take place gradually.

Vučić said he will talk tonight with the Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Army, Milan Mojsilović. 

"This is why our intervention followed, that such a thing should not be allowed. For me, none of this is surprising. Don't forget: 19 NATO countries bombed us in 1999, with one sole purpose, to take Kosovo and Metohija from us," Vučić said.