British MP Alicia Kearns has shared Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s post on X, in which he responded to Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić’s remarks about the possibility of diverting the course of the Ibar River.
“This is diplomacy,” Kearns wrote on X while sharing Rama’s response.
Rama’s statement came after a series of exchanges between Albanian and Serbian officials over Vučić’s comments regarding the Ibar River. In his response, Rama rejected Serbia’s references to “Greater Albania” and defended Kosovo’s sovereignty, while emphasizing that the Ibar is a transboundary water system whose consequences cannot simply stop at a state border.
He also argued that Albania has no territorial claims against Serbia and does not need the concept of a “Greater Albania” to support Kosovo.
Rama stated that Kosovo is a state of its own and that its people have their own institutions and the right to determine their future.
He further criticized Serbia’s continued claim over Kosovo, writing that Serbia may repeat that it has not lost Kosovo, but “maps are less tolerant” of political narratives.
Turning back to the issue of the Ibar, Rama stressed that Serbia is free to manage resources within its jurisdiction, but argued that any potential consequences for another state cannot be disregarded.
“Rivers have the annoying habit of following geography rather than diplomatic talking points,” Rama wrote.
Rama also addressed the rights and security of Kosovo’s Serb community, stressing that their property, language and cultural and religious heritage must be protected.
He then took aim at what he described as the contradiction in Serbia’s rhetoric: warning Albania against ethnic expansionism while simultaneously referring to the territory of a sovereign state as though it were still Serbian territory.
Rama concluded by reaffirming Albania’s support for Kosovo and its European future, while stressing that Albania wants good-neighborly relations with Serbia and a region integrated into the European Union.
His final message was pointed:
“The Ibar, fortunately unaware of all our historical cartography, will continue to flow according to geography, not folklore.”
Kearns’ brief endorsement — “This is diplomacy” — adds a notable British political voice to the ongoing dispute over Kosovo, Serbia and the Ibar River.
