Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has once again taken a break from pretending to be a peacemaker to file a formal protest this time over bridges.
Speaking to pro-government broadcaster Informer, Vucic revealed that Belgrade has protested to Western powers after Kosovo’s acting government laid the foundation stones for two new bridges over the Ibër River in Mitrovica.
“They’ve done a lot of things, and now they’re placing foundation stones for two bridges without the consent of the Serbian people or the citizens of North Mitrovica. This would mean a final exodus,” Vucic dramatically claimed, without explaining how two concrete crossings could force anyone to pack their bags.
On July 1st, Kosovo’s government ceremonially began the construction of two new bridges one for pedestrians, and another for vehicles spanning the river that splits the southern, Albanian-majority part of Mitrovica from the northern, Serb-majority section.
Kosovo authorities have described the project, valued at roughly €3 million, as a step toward improving local infrastructure and encouraging cooperation between communities on both sides of the river.
But Vucic ever ready to turn urban planning into a geopolitical crisis sees the bridges not as tools of connection, but as catapults for an imagined Albanian takeover.
Public reaction on the ground is mixed: while some support the project for its practical value, others see it as unnecessary. One thing is clear: no one except Vučić is screaming “exodus.”
The new bridges will flank the existing main bridge a structure that itself has been symbolic of division and tension and which falls under the EU-facilitated Kosovo-Serbia agreement on freedom of movement.
Despite Vučić’s plea to the West, the European Union confirmed to Radio Free Europe that it is neither involved in nor informed about the bridge project. The EU also reminded both sides that any infrastructure over the Ibër River should be approached “with care and inclusiveness,” involving all affected communities.
In summary, while Kosovo is laying down concrete for coexistence, Vucic appears to be building castles of paranoia once again mistaking development for provocation.
