Serbian-language media outlet "Informer" published an article yesterday (January 4) claiming that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has called on the Germans to wage war against Serbs, thus attempting to incite tensions again.
The article is titled, "KURTI INVITES GERMANS TO WAR AGAINST SERBS! The 'Prime Minister' of the fake state is again trying to stir up TENSION IN THE PROVINCE!".
The claim is based on a statement by Kurti, taken from an interview given to the German newspaper "Welt", but distorting it, compared to the original version.
In the interview, Kurti, in fact, did not request the increase in these troops at all, but welcomed such a decision.
Link to the article published in Informer:
https://informer.rs/vesti/politika/761230/aljbin-kurti-kim-nemacka-tenzije
Excerpts from the article published in Informer:
The so-called 'prime minister' of the fake state of 'Kosovo', Albin Kurti, is again attempting to raise tensions in the southern Serbian province, calling on Germany to send more of its soldiers to deal with Serbs from the north! ?
Kurti, in an interview for the German "Welt", said that the establishment of barricades in the north of the province shows the need to increase the number of NATO troops in Kosovo within the framework of KFOR and that German soldiers are more than welcome, with which he publicly threatened new violence against Serbs. The self-proclaimed 'Prime Minister of Kosovo', justifying his request, did not miss the opportunity to accuse Belgrade of threatening the Albanian people in collaboration with Russia!?!
This article appeared on the front page of the newspaper dated January 4, 2023. (here)
Kurti's statements to the German daily "Welt" were interpreted in a disinformation and tendentious manner by the Serbian-language media. According to Informer, Kurti called on NATO to increase its forces in order to threaten Serbs in northern Kosovo with violence and incite new tensions.
But in fact, Prime Minister Kurti, in the interview (January 1, 2023), praised the increase in NATO forces, which would improve security and peace in Kosovo and the region. Meanwhile, the claim that he requested the increase in these troops to attack any party, as claimed by the Serbian-language media, turns out to be untrue.
"A significant increase in NATO soldiers and military equipment in our country would improve security and peace in Kosovo and the entire Western Balkans region." (here)
In the context of the German military presence within KFOR in Kosovo and the Bundestag's decision where up to 400 German emergency services could be sent to Kosovo, Kurti said: "German soldiers are certainly welcome in Kosovo." (here)
NATO has led a peace support operation in Kosovo – the Kosovo Force (KFOR) – since June 1999. KFOR continues to contribute to maintaining a secure environment in Kosovo and freedom of movement for all. (here)
So, given that the very purpose of the KFOR mission is peacekeeping, it turns out that Kurti's statement welcoming the increase in military troops does not have any tendency towards conflict.
Analyze:
Serbian-language media outlet "Informer" published an article yesterday claiming that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has called on the Germans to wage war against Serbs, thus attempting to incite tensions again.
The claim is based on a statement Kurti gave to the German newspaper "Welt".
Kurti welcomed NATO's decision to increase forces to maintain peace and security in Kosovo and the region, a responsibility borne by KFOR within NATO, and not to fight the Serbs and raise new tensions as alleged.
Kurti did not specifically invite German forces, but commenting on the possibility of sending 400 German emergency services by decision of the Bundestag, he said that they are welcome.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses these claims as "manipulation of facts".
ASSESSMENT:
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.