Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti was pranked by well-known Russian comedians Vovan and Lexus, who posed as Latvia’s President in a video call. The Latvian presidency has confirmed awareness of the incident and strongly condemned it as part of Russian propaganda tactics.
“We are aware of this incident and condemn such tactics as a form of Russian propaganda and disinformation,” Latvian presidential spokesperson Dāvis Doršs told Gazeta Express.
The prank was revealed six days after Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs’ visit to Kosovo. However, the video call itself had taken place on February 11, just two days after Kosovo’s parliamentary elections.
The Kosovo government also blamed Russian disinformation campaigns, highlighting that Sputnik Serbia and Russia Today (RT) had published over 60 fake news stories targeting Kosovo during the election period, as documented by the EU Election Observation Mission.
How Kurti Was Fooled
According to Kosovo’s Prime Minister’s Office, the call happened shortly after the elections when they were receiving numerous congratulatory messages. Due to time constraints, a full verification process was not conducted, leading to Kurti falling into the Russian comedians’ trap.
Latvia-Kosovo Relations Remain Strong
During his March 20 visit to Kosovo, President Rinkēvičs met with President Vjosa Osmani but did not meet with Kurti. The Latvian presidency explained this by stating:
“This was a short working visit where President Rinkēvičs met with his Kosovan counterpart, visited KFOR troops, and met Commander Enrico Barduani. No other meetings were planned.”
Despite the prank controversy, Latvia reaffirmed its support for Kosovo’s EU integration and Council of Europe membership.
“Latvia remains committed to supporting Kosovo’s reform process and backs the lifting of EU restrictive measures on Kosovo,” the Latvian presidency emphasized.
During a joint press conference with Osmani, Rinkēvičs also criticized EU sanctions on Kosovo, saying:
“Restrictive measures must be lifted. I don’t know if we will mark the second anniversary of these measures, but Latvia’s stance is clear: they must be removed, and we will continue to advocate for this.”
