Wrote: Endrit Berisha
Serbia's Deputy Prime Minister, Aleksandar Vulin, has claimed without evidence that Kosovo's possible admission to the Council of Europe is a contribution to the creation of what he calls "Greater Albania."
Four Serbian-language media outlets "kurir.rs", "novosti.rs", "telegraf.rs" and "politika.rs" have broadcast a statement by Vulin today (May 13).
What did Vulin say, according to reports?
All four aforementioned media outlets quoted Vulini’s same statement in response to the visit of Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama to Athens, Greece on Sunday. Describing it as a promotion of “Greater Albania,” Vulini reportedly said that “only Serbs and the Serbian world can stop it, but also Greeks.”
"The next time the Greek Government thinks about recognizing the so-called Kosovo, remember what Edi Rama's reception in the middle of Athens looked like. What Rama could not experience in Tirana, he experienced in Athens. The recognition of the so-called Kosovo by the Greek authorities and the acceptance of Pristina into the Council of Europe would be an immeasurable contribution of the Greek Government and Dora Bakoyannis to the creation of Greater Albania. Only Serbs and the Serbian world can stop it, but also the Greeks, our beloved Greeks, think about this," Vulini said, according to a report by "telegraf.rs".
Link to the "telegraf.rs" article:
Screenshot from the article published on Telegraf.rs
The same response was published in three other media outlets later. (see here, here and here)
Vulin does not provide any facts for the given claim. In fact, such claims about "Greater Albania" have been made by senior Serbian officials in the past, which have been covered by hibrid.info. (see here, here and here)
Kosovo, as a state, has reached the stage of the final decision for membership in the Council of Europe. It has received support in the Parliamentary Assembly, and the vote is conditional on the eve of the meeting of the Committee of Ministers. Greece does not recognize the state of Kosovo. The rapporteur for Kosovo's application to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe was the Greek deputy, Dora Bakoyannis.
Analyze:
Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin has claimed that Kosovo's possible admission to the Council of Europe would contribute to the creation of a “Greater Albania.” Such a statement is not based on facts, and as such does not hold true.
Based on the working methodology, hibrid.info evaluates this article as a "conspiracy theory".
Rating:
"Conspiracy theories" are media reports that disseminate a false or unverifiable description of a phenomenon, event, or person, presenting it as part of or the result of a secret plan ("conspiracy"). A characteristic of these reports is that they present a series of claims, presented as facts, between which cause-effect relationships are established, without providing any credible evidence.