News outlets from Albania with a strong presence on social media continue to use Kosovo for disinformation, exploiting the unresolved relations with Serbia.
On September 30th, the online news outlet NTV.al published an article titled: “Vucic Recognizes Kosovo and Sends Vulin for Condolences to Putin in Russia.” However, the article’s content did not provide any evidence to support the claim made in the headline. Such articles are categorized as “clickbait,” containing misleading information. This article was published by the Albanian outlet on both its website and Facebook page.
This is not the first time this news outlet has speculated through headlines, aiming to grab the audience’s attention without offering facts or references in the article’s content.
The only information provided in the article’s text is a statement from a former member of the Serbian Parliament, Dragan Sormaz. Yet, no direct quote is given from him regarding Vucic’s alleged recognition of Kosovo. Additionally, there is no mention of the location or date when the statement was made, which supposedly suggests that Vucic has changed his stance on Kosovo. Both he and other Serbian officials have consistently denied Kosovo’s statehood and have actively lobbied to weaken Kosovo’s presence on the international stage, whether by reducing Kosovo’s international recognition or blocking its membership in international organizations.
In this article, Kosovo is mentioned only in relation to the Banjska incident, which is described as: “Banjska was a tragic event, but also Vucic’s best move for Serbia,” though this has no connection to Serbia’s recognition of Kosovo.
Regarding the part that claims Vucic sent Vulin to offer condolences to Putin in Russia, the article states: “The President of the Euro-Atlantic Council of Serbia, during the time leading up to the agreed settlement between Serbia and Kosovo, Aleksandar Vucic, will distribute decorations to Russians.”
“He will send his trusted ally, Aleksandar Vulin, to Moscow to speak about peace, continuing to deceive those in the Kremlin, but primarily his own voters in Serbia, whose numbers are decreasing day by day. The Russians won’t take this seriously because they need this type of Serbia as a tool to continue destabilizing the Balkans and undermining European unity,” the article adds.
Kosovo and Serbia have been in negotiations to normalize relations since 2011, with the European Union acting as mediator. It has been stated that the process should conclude with a legally binding agreement. While Kosovo insists that this agreement include mutual recognition, Serbia rejects this.
In fact, Serbia’s President, Aleksandar Vucic, emphasized during the first session of the newly elected legislature of the Serbian Parliament in 2022: “As long as I have influence, Serbia will not recognize the unilateral independence of Kosovo, either directly or indirectly.”
*This article is published as part of the Western Balkans Regional Initiative against disinformation. “Western Balkans Anti-Disinformation Hub: exposing malign influences through watchdog journalism.”
