Osmani: Serbia and Russia a threat to Kosovo, EU should not reward Belgrade

2025-10-02 11:43:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said that Russia and its ally, Serbia, pose a threat to Kosovo.

Before the start of the European Political Community summit in Copenhagen, Denmark, Osmani told reporters that Russia poses a threat to Europe, while Serbia poses a threat to the Western Balkans region, accusing Belgrade of copying Moscow's actions.

"Serbia treats neighboring states as non-existent states, as temporary states, as states against which it acts with aggression. It is a copy of Russia's methods. Unfortunately, Russia supports Serbia in these actions. Traditionally and for centuries, they have used a similar concept: Russia speaks of 'Greater Russia' and the 'Russian World', Serbia of 'Greater Serbia' and the 'Serbian World' and use the same methods. For us, both pose a threat ," said Osmani.

Osmani said that there is never a vacuum of influence in the Western Balkans region. If there is no Western influence, according to her, “the malignant forces of the ‘Triangle of Evil’, which are Russia, China and Iran, always come there, not for charity, but with malicious strategic interests. Therefore, it is important that the enlargement is pushed forward and the Western Balkans, those countries in the region that meet the criteria and work with the EU values, should be taken into account to move forward.”

Osmani said that a few days ago Kosovo marked the second anniversary of the armed attack in Banjska, Zvecan, when a group of armed Serbs attacked the Kosovo Police, killing a sergeant.

Kosovo considers this attack a terrorist attack and accuses the state of Serbia of organizing it.

"The EU continues to demand accountability. There has been zero accountability and it is time for them to turn words into action ," Osmani said.

According to her, Serbian President Aleksandar Vu?i? has attempted to copy Russian leader Vladimir Putin, "using tactics of aggression and destabilization against neighbors, and for this reason it is important that EU member states understand that rewarding Serbia for standing with Russia is not the way forward. States that are 100 percent aligned with the EU should be rewarded, not those that have chosen Moscow as the way forward," she said.

Serbia maintains good relations with Russia and has so far refused to join the international community in sanctioning Moscow over its war in Ukraine. The EU has repeatedly called on Belgrade to align with Brussels' foreign policy.

Speaking about Kosovo's application for EU membership, Osmani said that it has not yet been addressed by the EU due to the "domestic policies" of some member states, but added that Kosovo will continue to work to convince these states, emphasizing that "the only path for Kosovo" is EU and NATO membership.

Denmark is hosting the seventh summit of the European Political Community.

The summit brings together 45 leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

"Leaders will focus on how to strengthen Ukraine, on the overall security situation in Europe and on a more secure geopolitical situation we face," the European Union said./ REL