Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said on Thursday that Serbia had the intention and still has the intention to destabilize the security situation in Kosovo, and that this assessment, which she made in Washington days ago, was based on the continuous information she received from the security institutions of the Republic of Kosovo.
During her visit to Washington last week, the president confirmed US President Donald Trump's statements that he had prevented a potential escalation from Serbia to Kosovo "in recent weeks."
"More specifically, at the end of May, we received specific information regarding Serbia's actions on the border with Kosovo. Immediately after receiving this information, I had meetings with the security institutions that report to me as president. We have ensured that every institution in Kosovo is properly mobilized for the defense of the country," she said at a press conference in Pristina, after returning from several visits to the United States and Latvia.
Osmani said that some of the information is classified, but that it has been shared with allies to stop the escalation of security.
Among other things, President Osmani said that she was surprised when she heard reports that Kosovo citizens had not been previously informed about the dangers from Serbia, since, according to her, "this issue has been addressed in dozens of statements by the Presidency of Kosovo" and that the acting Minister of Defense, Ejup Maqedonci, has also spoken about the danger in May.
Serbia rejected Osman's statements days ago, but the Kosovo president called them "part of their ongoing propaganda."
"I assure the citizens of Kosovo that there is no reason for concern or panic, because our institutions are on duty to protect the borders and the security of all our citizens. Threats from Serbia are constant, however, our institutions have everything under control."
The Director of the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia, Petar Petkovic, said in a post on X that President Osmani "has not said anything meaningful, except for more attacks on Belgrade."
When asked about the accusations of Richard Grenell, the US President's envoy for Special Missions, that Osmani is manipulating Trump's statements, the president said that she only thanked President Trump for his role in the world, in general, and in the Balkan region, for maintaining peace and security.
"I have answered the questions and I invite the citizens of Kosovo to listen to the statements I was asked about. Among other things, there is the statement dated June 25, 2025, you can listen to it yourself. It is said that 'in the last week we took care of India and Pakistan, Kosovo and Serbia'", Osmani declared, citing Trump's statements in recent weeks.
"I have not interpreted President Trump's statements, but I have shown how I understood them as the president of the Republic of Kosovo. If the position of the United States is different, I believe you can address it, but we appreciate the role of President Trump as a peacemaker day and night for peace in the world. We appreciate this contribution immensely. I do not want to state how others have commented on my statement."
What did Trump say?
US President Donald Trump wrote on the Social Truth network on June 15 that during his first presidential term, Kosovo and Serbia were "heading towards a serious conflict" and that war was on the verge of breaking out, but that he stopped it.
On June 25, Trump said that "over the last few weeks, we've dealt with India and Pakistan, Kosovo, Serbia. I think on Friday we'll have visits from Congo and Rwanda." He made the statement during a press conference at the NATO summit in The Hague.
On June 27, speaking in the Oval Office about his administration's efforts to resolve potential conflicts, Trump said: "...in Serbia and Kosovo we resolved a potential disaster."
A day later, on June 28, Trump said that "in just a few months, we have achieved peace between India and Pakistan, Israel and Iran, and between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda - and a few others as well."
“Serbia, you know, was preparing to go to war with a group. I don’t want to mention it, because it didn’t happen – we managed to stop it. But, I have a friend in Serbia who told me: ‘We’re going to go to war again.’ And I don’t want to say it’s Kosovo, but it’s Kosovo. It was going to start a big war, but we stopped it. We stopped it because of trade. They want to trade with the United States. I told them: we don’t trade with those who go to war.”
Later, on July 9, he repeated: "I have managed to resolve many situations, like the one with India and Pakistan, Kosovo and Serbia. I said: will you fight? We will not trade. And, it seems, that has been quite successful."
Trump also mentioned the case of Kosovo and Serbia during a meeting with NATO chief Mark Rutte on July 14 at the White House.
Through a post on X, on July 13, Grenell said that "Donald Trump has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work for peace and economic normalization between Kosovo and Serbia in 2019 and 2020 through the signing of the Washington Agreement in the Oval Office."
"Osmani was not part of that agreement. The claim that there was anything new is absurd," Grenell said in a post on X.
In November 2019, Grenell was appointed by Trump as the special envoy for negotiations between Kosovo and Serbia, and he has been closely involved in this process.
In Trump's first term, more precisely in 2020, Kosovo and Serbia signed an agreement to normalize economic relations - known as the Washington Agreement - which has never been fully implemented.
Trump himself has mentioned Kosovo and Serbia on several occasions in recent weeks, saying he has prevented a conflict between them.
Radio Free Europe has contacted the White House for clarification regarding these statements, but has not received a response.
The acting Government of Kosovo has not responded either, when asked what kind of escalation of the situation is being discussed.
NATO's mission in Kosovo, KFOR, has told Radio Free Europe that the Western Balkans continue to have strategic importance for the alliance and it is committed to regional stability.
However, KFOR did not want to comment on the recent statements of Osman and Trump, saying that they should be referred to Kosovo and US institutions.
The German Embassy in Kosovo also told Radio Free Europe a day ago that it has no information about any military escalation of the situation between Kosovo and Serbia.
These statements come at a time when tensions between Kosovo and Serbia remain high, especially in northern Kosovo, where the majority of the population is Serb.
The escalation of the situation in northern Kosovo culminated in September 2023 when an armed group of Serbs, led by Milan Radoićić – former vice-president of the Serbian List – attacked the Kosovo Police in the village of Banjska and killed a police sergeant.
Kosovo has described the attack as terrorist and accused Serbia of being behind it - something official Belgrade has denied.
The country's first lady also spoke about the blockade of the Parliament. She said that if there are no institutions or any agreement by the end of the week, she will turn to the Constitutional Court.
"We are preparing the case for the Constitutional Court. If there are no institutions during this weekend, there is no agreement that could result in constituted institutions, then at the beginning of the week we will address the Constitutional Court," she declared.
Furthermore, she emphasized that it is not up to the president to negotiate to achieve coalitions between parties.
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