The "News from the World" Facebook page has published a content today (August 19), through which it is claimed that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has reacted to statements by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić regarding the Ibar Bridge.
The content attributes a lengthy statement to Fidan, according to which Turkey has “its own points in the Balkans” and that one of them is the Republic of Kosovo, which Turkey will “protect at all costs”. The claim also states that Fidan has warned that anyone who violates “even one meter” of these points will “dig a hole for themselves”.
As of the time of publication of this article, the post has received around 2,400 likes, 240 comments and 144 shares, achieving considerable reach on social networks. Regarding the transparency of the page, available data shows that the “Lajme Nga Bota” profile was created on January 22, 2020, while the information on the ownership of the profile lists North Macedonia as the main country of the profile owner.
What is known about this claim?
A verification of official sources and reliable media has not found any statement by Turkish Minister Hakan Fidan that contains these claims.
The official website of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not published any statement or reaction from Fidan to Vučić regarding the Ibar Bridge. The latest announcements of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs include the activities and statements of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Minister Hakan Fidan during the month of August, and in no case does any statement about Kosovo be mentioned. (here)
Also, a search of other reliable sources has not found any reports that Fidan has publicly responded to the Serbian president with the wording published in this content. (here)
What did Vučić say about the Ibar Bridge?
Aleksandar Vučić's recent statements about the Ibar Bridge are real, but they do not prove the existence of Hakan Fidan's alleged reaction.
On 18 August 2026, Vučić stated that he would write to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, requesting that the bridge over the Ibar River not be opened to traffic. In his statement, he also mentioned KFOR Commander Ozkan Ulutas, saying that "a Turk" was dealing with the issue. (here)
Meanwhile, KFOR has announced a gradual change in the positioning of forces at the Ibar Bridge, which it has described as "optimize"of its presence. The process has been presented as gradual and based on security conditions, while KFOR has emphasized continued coordination with Kosovo institutions, Kosovo Police, EULEX and other actors.
So, the claim of "Lajme Nga Bota" takes as its starting point a real development - Vučić's statements and the change in KFOR's presence at the Ibar Bridge, but then adds a non-existent statement by the Turkish Foreign Minister.
False attribution of statements from the “World News” page
This is not the first time that the "World News" website has attributed statements to Hakan Fidan that have not been confirmed by official sources.
In July 2025, this account claimed that Fidan had declared that Kosovo has the right to build bridges in the north without anyone's permission and that their construction would be completed in September. Hibrid.info's verification showed that there was no official or reliable source confirming this statement. (here)
Also in December 2024, “Lajme nga Bota” published another false claim attributing to Fidan the statement that Syria would recognize Kosovo after the formation of the new government. Even in that case, no evidence was found that Fidan had made such a statement. (here)
In another case, the site claimed that Turkey would be committed to preventing terrorist attacks in Kosovo and that Fidan had stated that Turkish intelligence would protect Kosovo. This claim was also unsupported by official statements. (here)
ASSESSMENT
The claim that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan responded to Aleksandar Vučić by declaring that Turkey will defend Kosovo "at all costs" and that no one can violate "a single meter" of it is false.
No official or reliable source has been found that proves that Fidan made such a statement.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info considers this claim to be "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.