Wrote: Etrit Rexhepi
A photograph has been published showing Lord George Robertson, former NATO Secretary General, and Ibrahim Rugova, the late former president of Kosovo, with the caption claiming that the former stated, "Thanks to AMERICA and IBRAHIM RUGOVA! Yes, if it weren't for RUGOVA, Kosovo would still be under Serbia.".
Ky post was published yesterday (April 8) by the Facebook account named, "Nehat Hyseni"
However, hibrid.info has not found any public fact proving that Robertson made the statement alleged above.
Hibrid.info has researched through the search engine, "Google" to find out if this statement was actually made by the former NATO leader (see here).
Search results showed that this claim has been circulating online since 2017 (see here and here).
The only public statement by Robertson, found by the research, is one from 2024 in the medium "Kallxo.com", where the British politician had spoken about meetings with former president Rugova, without commenting on his role in the liberation of Kosovo (see here).
As for the NATO air campaign against the former Yugoslavia, Robertson has consistently praised the decision for this military intervention in public statements. Robertson has never commented on the involvement of any NATO member state in the liberation of Kosovo in 1999 (see here).
Analyze:
The claim that Lord George Robertson, former NATO Secretary General, said that if it weren't for former President Ibrahim Rugova, Kosovo would still be under Serbia is incorrect.
No public statements have been found where Robertson said what is alleged.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses this content as "Fake News".
Reasoning:
The “Fake News” rating is given to informational content that is entirely fabricated or that contains factually incorrect claims or information. Content that is rated as fake news can be defined as having been created and distributed with the intent to misinform the public, i.e., to present a claim that is completely false as fact.