Statements by the head of the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia, Petar Petkovic, that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti is not for dialogue but only wants conflict, have been reported in Serbian-language media today.
Petkovic interprets Kurti's statement that he "cannot rule out conflicts in the region" as his intention to set the Western Balkans on fire, causing crises and tensions in northern Kosovo. The head of the office claims that Kurti's goal, through the construction of police bases, is to enclose the Serbs in the north in a circle, which, according to Petkovic, he will not achieve.
Link to the article published in "Novosti":
Parts of the article published in "Novosti":
The fact that Albin Kurti "cannot rule out conflicts in the region" only speaks of his intention to set the Western Balkans on fire by causing tensions and crises in Kosovo and Metohija, the director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Dr. Petar Petkovic, assessed today.
"No one should be deceived that Pristina's goal in those unilateral moves is noble and humanitarian, the real goal is Kurti's attempt to surround the Serbs in the north of the province, which will not succeed," said the director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija.
Petkovic's statement was published in the main Serbian-language media, with headlines using Petkovic's statement, which states that "Kurti only has conflict in mind, not dialogue." (here, here and here)
The claims of the head of the Kosovo office regarding Kurti that he is supposedly only thinking about conflict, not dialogue, are unfounded since they do not provide any concrete supporting facts. The claim that the construction of bases for the positioning of the special unit of the Kosovo Police is aimed at surrounding the Serbs is unfounded because such an action was taken to extend the rule of law and preserve territorial integrity. This has also been confirmed by the Minister of Internal Affairs – Xhelal Sveçla, on Fidan Jupolli's DPD show at T7 on September 9th.
Kurti, in an interview with the Croatian media outlet 'Večernji list', provides evidence as to why he does not rule out the possibility of a conflict in the Western Balkans. Kurti links his statement to the fact that on the Serbian side of the border between Kosovo and Serbia there are about 48 progressive offensive operational bases, of which 28 are military and 20 belong to the gendarmerie. Furthermore, Kurti emphasizes that last year Serbia and Russia had 104 joint military exercises and activities and have planned 91, and he interprets this as preparation for war on the part of the Serbs. (here)
Analyze:
The head of the office for Kosovo, Petar Petkovic, today stated that the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, has conflict in his mind and not dialogue. This interpretation of Petkovic comes as an unfounded interpretation of Kurti's statement to the Croatian media where he says that the possibility of a conflict is not excluded.
Kurti bases his statement on concrete facts of movements made by the Serbian army on the Serbian side of the Kosovo-Serbia border, which would be the cause of a possible conflict. Kurti warns of a possible conflict based on the military movements of the Serbian state on the border with Kosovo, and not on any personal plan to cause unrest in the Balkans.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses that these interpretations made by Petkovic are alluded to and are classified as "manipulation of facts".
Rating:
The evaluation as "Manipulation of facts" is given to those media reports that use facts known to be correct, but interpret them in a distorted way. These reports typically use inaccurate information to draw inaccurate conclusions or claims, thereby misdirecting consumers' conclusions of media content in relation to the actual meaning of the facts presented.