The acting president of Kosovo, Albulena Haxhiu, and the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of Albania, Ferit Hoxha, have reacted to the statements of the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, about the possibility of changing the course of the Ibar River.
Haxhiu has described the idea, once again mentioned by the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, as "absurd", "threatening" and a "chauvinistic" approach.
"As you know, the Ibër-Lepenc (irrigation canal) and Lake Ujman are part of a vital system for water supply, energy, agriculture, and the lives of hundreds of thousands of Kosovo citizens," said Haxhiu, demanding that Vučić's statements be addressed with international partners.
Even Albania's minister, Hoxha, wrote on Facebook that changing the flow of a river that is part of a transboundary water system cannot be treated as an internal matter of a state or decided unilaterally.
"Water cannot be used as an instrument of political pressure nor as a means to punish another country or population," said Hoxha.
Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric reacted to Hoxha's statement, accusing Albania of trying to divert attention from, as he said, the violations of Serb rights in Kosovo and described the reaction as "politically motivated intervention."
"Serbia is a sovereign state and will decide for itself how to manage its natural resources. Albania will not make these decisions, nor will anyone else outside Serbia," Djuric said in a post on X.
The reactions come a day after Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said that Serbia has begun concrete work towards this idea.
"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.
Furthermore, Vučić spoke again on this topic on Monday, saying that he "is not threatening anyone, but is dealing with water flows in the territory of Serbia."
"Now, of course, scientists, engineers and everyone else will sit down, examine the issue and propose to me how this can be realized, and that's it. I have not threatened anyone. It is not me, Kurti, who threatens people. I am not threatening anyone. We will simply deal with our own problems. We have our own interests and we deal with them," Vučić told the media, as quoted by Serbian media outlet Tanjug.
The idea of changing the course of the Ibar River is not new.
In December 2024, after the explosion that damaged the Iber-Lepenc canal in Zubin Potok, Vučić said that since 1985 there has been an idea to change the course of the river for the needs of the population in Serbia.
He had said then that he himself had been against it.
The Ibar River, about 270 kilometers long, originates in Montenegro, flows through Serbia and then into Kosovo, where it fills the artificial Lake Ujman. Two-thirds of this lake is located in Kosovo. Water from this system supplies seven municipalities, is used for irrigation and for cooling the thermal power plants in Obiliq, which produce most of the electricity in Kosovo.
Experts interviewed earlier by Radio Free Europe have said that changing the course of the Ibar is technically possible, but would be extremely costly and, if it were to harm Kosovo, would conflict with the principles of international law on transboundary waters.
Serbia is a party to the 1997 United Nations Convention on the Non-Navigational Uses of International Waterways.
It defines, among other things, the principle of fair and reasonable use of transboundary waters and the obligation not to cause significant harm to other states. Kosovo is not a party to this convention, as it is not a member of the UN. /Taken from Radio Free Europe
