Albania has made a deliberate choice not to respond publicly to repeated statements made by the highest authorities in Serbia, including President Vučić.

Nevertheless, I want to be very clear, and I am grateful for this opportunity to do so.

First, the claims regarding a so-called “trilateral alliance” against Serbia are false and wholly exaggerated. No matter how forcefully or repeatedly such assertions are made, repetition does not make them true. Albania is not part of any regional or other alliance directed against any country in the region. We share the same position on this matter with other regional partners and allies, including Croatia. The only alliance Albania belongs to is the Atlantic Alliance, NATO, alongside Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and other allied nations. That alliance, I would note, has its doors open to Serbia as well.

Our foreign policy is grounded in cooperation, good-neighborliness, and the European integration of the region. Within this framework, any cooperation with our partners is aimed at strengthening stability and security, and at supporting the Republic of Kosovo on its Euro-Atlantic path — not against anyone, and least of all against Serbia. This is a sovereign choice of Kosovo’s institutions and citizens, and Albania stands ready to support it in a constructive and sustained manner.

Second, Albania has made a conscious choice not to engage in the logic of unnecessary rhetoric, and even less so in the logic of escalation. It is easy to trade statements and declarations; what matters far more is clarity of position and consistency of policy. We speak through our concrete engagement in NATO, in the Berlin Process, and in every initiative, regional or broader, that serves the stability, security, and development of our region. We have made these positions clear to our interlocutors from Serbia, and we will continue to do so with composure, prudence, and patience.

Third, it is important to understand that narratives of this kind are often deployed for domestic purposes or to justify particular policies. Albania cannot and must not become part of a discourse that does not serve peace, trust, and cooperation in the region. On the contrary, we believe that transparency, regional cooperation, and respect for international commitments are the only path toward building lasting security.

At the same time, while offering unconditional support to Kosovo, its development, its modernization, and the advancement of Kosovo and the entire region along the Euro-Atlantic path, Albania remains fully committed to developing normal and constructive relations with Serbia. This is entirely consistent with our principled positions and forms part of a broader vision: a region that, without forgetting its past, makes every effort to transcend it through dialogue, cooperation, and European integration. The tragic past of the Balkans is a lesson for all; a shared European future is, in our judgment, and must be, the only roadmap.

Albania remains unwavering in its strategic orientation: a region that is stable, secure, and integrated into the European Union. For this reason, we will continue to act with responsibility, prudence, and in full coordination with our international partners, undeterred by statements that do not reflect reality, but actively contributing to lasting peace, stability, and security in the region.

Allow me to take this a step further, because I am absolutely unwilling to leave any impression, however slight, that we are inattentive or worse, indifferent. We are neither.

It is important to separate facts from perceptions clearly. It is true that Serbia has increased its military capabilities and has developed defense cooperation with various actors, including Russia and China. That is its sovereign choice. It does not go unnoticed, not here, not in Brussels, and I would like to believe, not in Washington either. But at the same time, this must not be used to manufacture a climate of alarm or to justify unnecessary escalation in the region.

For years, decades, by now, Albania has not grounded its own security or that of the region in rhetoric or in raising its voice, but in a concrete security architecture. We are a NATO member state, part of the most powerful security alliance in the world, and every development in the region is viewed and addressed within that framework. This is the strongest guarantee of peace and stability.

Regarding the Republic of Kosovo, I do not believe any additional comment is necessary, our position is well known and unambiguous. Albania firmly and without hesitation supports Kosovo’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and we condemn any action or rhetoric that undermines stability in the north or elsewhere. But it is equally important to preserve calm, to avoid provocations, and to move forward through dialogue facilitated by the European Union.

Let us not forget: KFOR is present in Kosovo not as a formality or to produce reports from a distance, but as a key instrument of international security, deployed precisely to guarantee and consolidate peace and stability on the ground. KFOR’s presence is a concrete security guarantee, not only for Kosovo’s institutions, but for all its citizens, without distinction. It operates in close coordination with Kosovo’s authorities and international partners to prevent the escalation of tensions and to respond swiftly to any potential threat.

In this context, KFOR’s role is also essential as a deterrent against any action that could destabilize the north of Kosovo or the wider region. Its presence sends an unambiguous message: security in Kosovo and in the region is not left in a vacuum but is underpinned by a robust international security architecture in which NATO and its allies play an irreplaceable role.

For this very reason, every development on the ground must be assessed within this context: Kosovo is not alone, and peace within it is a shared international priority. We have said it before and we will say it again, any threat to Kosovo’s security constitutes, simultaneously, a threat to Albania’s security.

The response to any tendency toward militarization is not to mirror it recklessly, but to deepen cooperation with our allies, to develop our own defense capabilities responsibly, and to invest in long-term stability. Albania is doing precisely that. As a natural part of the country’s development, Albania is also advancing its defense industry in close cooperation with partner and allied nations. Indeed, this was one of the central focuses of Prime Minister Rama’s recent visit to Italy. Moreover, just two days ago, we held in Brussels the second round of high-level dialogue under the defense and security partnership with the European Union.

Albania is negotiating for EU membership, and within that framework, has for years been a valued partner of the European Union in the field of peace, security, and defense, an active participant in the EU’s Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP), contributing concretely to its missions and operations in service of regional and international stability and in support of the European security architecture.

In closing, I wish to emphasize peace is not weakness, and composure is not inaction.

On the contrary, it is a strategic choice.

Albania will not become part of rhetorics that fuel tension. It will continue to be a force for stability, acting with prudence, in full coordination with its allies, and with a clear and unwavering focus: security, peace, and the European future of our region.