Prime Minister Albin Kurti was asked in Skopje about a statement by North Macedonia’s Deputy Prime Minister Ivan Stoiljkoviq, who was quoted as saying that Serbs are being terrorized by the Government of Kosovo.
In a joint media conference after meeting with Macedonian Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, Kurti said he was not informed about this statement but outlined the rights Serbs have.
“I haven’t read or heard this statement. All I can say is that it is true that I am not the Prime Minister only for Albanians in Kosovo. Albanians indeed make up about 93%, but we have around 4% Serbs, as well as other minorities, including Bosniaks, Turks, Ashkali, Egyptians, Roma. We also have a few Croats and Montenegrins, and we cooperate with all of them,” said Kurti.
After mentioning the seats in Parliament and other rights, he said there is no ethnic problem in Kosovo. However, he noted that there is a “language barrier.”
“We face a challenge from our northern neighbor. I cannot say there is an ethnic problem in Kosovo. There is a language barrier because over the years, fewer and fewer Albanians know how to speak Serbian, while my generation is among the last to have learned Serbo-Croatian in school. So, there is a language barrier, but I wouldn’t say there are ethnic divides,” said Kurti.
He added that “we cooperate well” with the Serbs.