Serbia Urges Albania to End 'Megaphone Diplomacy,' Focus on Concrete Actions

Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Đurić has called on Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama to move beyond "megaphone diplomacy" and engage in more substantive cooperation. Đurić proposed that both nations should prioritize concrete examples of what Serbs and Albanians can achieve together, rather than exchanging public statements.

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Let me respectfully propose to Prime Minister Rama and the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of Albania, Ferit Hoxha, that we leave 'megaphone diplomacy' behind, although it is interesting. Our doors and telephone lines remain open. Our people truly deserve fewer exchanges of statements and more concrete examples of what Serbs and Albanians can achieve together.

Đurić’s remarks were a response to Rama's recent commentary regarding the Ibar River and the Balkans. Rama suggested that the region should not pay the price for new border redrawing and that the Ibar would continue to flow according to geography, not historical folklore. Đurić characterized Rama's statement as a summer attempt to divert attention from the core issues.

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The Ibar will continue to flow according to geography, not historical folklore, and the Balkans should not pay the price for new redrawing of borders.

Specifically, Đurić highlighted the ongoing demolition of Serbian homes along the Ibar River and the Gazivode Lake by Kosovo authorities, actions he described as systematic property destruction without legal procedure. He pointed out that Albania is not a riparian state of the Ibar River, which flows through Montenegro, Serbia, and Kosovo, before reaching the Danube. International water law, he argued, does not recognize coastal state status based on ethnicity.

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The Ibar flows from Montenegro, through Serbia, including Kosovo and Metohija, and continues its course through the Danube basin to the Black Sea. It never enters Albania and is not part of Albania's river system. The Ibar is a transboundary watercourse, but Albania is not a country through which it flows, nor is it a riparian state.

Serbia's stance on Kosovo, Đurić asserted, is grounded in its constitution, international law, and UN Security Council Resolution 1244, not folklore. While Albania may disagree, he stated, it cannot unilaterally declare the issue resolved. Đurić expects Rama, who acknowledges the importance of the rights and security of the Serb community, to provide concrete support, including a clear call to halt the demolition of Serbian homes and to facilitate the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities.

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Serbia's position on Kosovo and Metohija is not folklore, but is based on the Constitution, international law, and Resolution 1244 of the UN Security Council.