Wrote: Fatbardh Dema
It is alleged that French President Emmanuel Macron has said that French KFOR troops may be withdrawn if Kosovo insists on opening the Ibar Bridge.
This claim was published yesterday (August 11) on Facebook by the page "MeKryeministrin".
What is the truth?
After fact-checking conducted by hibrid.info, it was confirmed that this claim made by the "MeKryeministrin" website is false.
Link to the post published on Facebook by the page "MeKryeministrin":
What did the French Government say after the Kosovo Government's intentions to reopen the bridge over the Ibar River?
France strongly condemns the increase in unilateral actions by the Kosovo authorities in the north of the country that affect the daily life of the Serb community. These actions jeopardize efforts to normalize relations with Serbia, which are prerequisites for the future membership of both countries in the EU.
France calls on the Kosovo authorities to refrain from any future unilateral action that would further aggravate tensions. It encourages the two parties to return to the negotiating table under the auspices of the European Union in order to make progress towards the implementation of the Ohrid Agreement. (see here)
So, in no case was the possibility of the withdrawal of French troops from KFOR mentioned, as claimed in the post of the "MeKryeministrin" page on Facebook.
In the post of the aforementioned page, it is stated that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has responded to France's statement, saying that if the French state withdraws troops from KFOR in Kosovo, this will not disrupt the work and that Kosovo has Turkey's support in decisions to preserve the territory of Kosovo.
Hibrid.info has researched online regarding this claim, but no such statement has been found published by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (see here)
Likewise, no such statement is found on the Turkish minister's official account on X (former Twitter). (see here)
Analyze:
The claim that French President Emmanuel Macron has declared that France will withdraw its KFOR members from Kosovo if the Kosovo Government insists on opening the Ibar Bridge.
Hibrid.info, after conducting research, has proven that this claim is false. Such a statement was not made by President Macron.
Also, in the Facebook post made by the page "MeKryeministrin", it was claimed that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had allegedly reacted to Macron's statement.
Hibrid.info has confirmed that the Turkish Foreign Ministry has not issued any reaction regarding Kosovo's insistence on opening the Ibar Bridge.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses this post 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.