Retired Serbian professor of hydrotechnics and hydrology Jovan Despotović has responded to Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić’s statements about the possibility of changing the course of the Ibar River.
Despotović dismissed Vučić’s claims as unrealistic, saying that redirecting the river could not be carried out within a short period of time.
“It is delusional and has nothing to do with reality for two reasons. First, it is impossible to implement in a short period of time without destroying hills and mountains. Second, it simply cannot be done; Europe would have to approve it,” Despotović told FoNet, according to N1.
According to him, such a project would require years of studies and engineering plans, as well as approval from relevant international institutions, including the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River, based in Vienna.
“This is not a septic tank behind your house. This is completely unacceptable. There are European agreements governing water resources in Serbia that are connected to all neighboring countries. We cannot even do anything unilaterally with the Drin,” he said.
Despotović also emphasized that the Ibar is an international river because its source is located in Montenegro.
“There is a European water directive. The Ibar is now an international river. Now he wants to say that the Ibar is our river and that we can do whatever we want with it. That has nothing to do with reality. The Montenegrins would also have to agree,” Despotović said.
His comments came after Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said that Serbia was considering the possibility of changing the course of the Ibar within Serbian territory, presenting the idea as a response to what he described as the treatment of Serbs by authorities in Pristina.
The reality is simple: rivers cannot be redirected by political speeches. International waterways are governed by law, agreements and technical realities not propaganda.
