Kosovo Officials Sound Alarm Over Vulin’s “Operational” Threats Against Prime Minister
Vulin’s chilling remarks, invoking a “Mossad model” to target Kosovo’s Prime Minister, signal a desperate, dangerous attempt to rekindle the ghosts of the region’s tragic past.
In recent days, a series of statements by senior Serbian political figures has reignited concerns among regional officials and security observers about Serbia’s posture toward Kosovo and the broader stability of the Western Balkans. The remarks, delivered in a televised appearance and subsequent political speeches in Belgrade, have drawn sharp reactions from Kosovo’s government and revived long standing questions about the trajectory of Serbia’s security policy and its alignment with Western institutions.
Aleksandar Vulin, Serbia’s former director of the Security Intelligence Agency BIA and a longtime political ally of President Aleksandar Vucic, sparked the latest controversy during a televised discussion in Serbia in which he invoked the operational methods of Israel’s intelligence service Mossad when speaking about individuals he described as promoters of “anti-Serbian policy”.
“...the Serbian state must act. After this I would ask our service to make a clear plan about how we will deal with individuals by name and surname who are carriers of anti-Serbian policy. Let them think about what will happen to them. If Israel can do it, if Mossad can do it, why can’t the Serbian service. Why can’t we. It is not that we have never done it before, we know how it is done and nobody is afraid of us”, Vulin said.
He then referred directly to Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, adding that Kurti
“has no problem breaking any agreement and is not afraid that he will ever be punished for it. He is not afraid that anything will ever happen to him, neither to him nor to the people around him”.
Video: Aleksandar Vulin suggests Serbian intelligence could act against individuals he labels as carriers of "anti-Serbian policy", invoking Mossad while referring to Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti.
The comments immediately prompted a strong response from Kosovo’s Interior Minister Xhelal Sveçla, who described the remarks as an unacceptable threat that normalises the language of covert operations and political violence in a region still marked by the legacy of the Balkan wars.
“The statement of former BIA director Aleksandar Vulin, made in the context of developments in the Middle East where he refers to the Mossad model and asks ‘if Israel can do it why can’t we’, is unacceptable and deeply threatening”, Sveçla wrote in a public statement1.
“To import analogies from a conflict defined by open warfare, armed threats and declared operations against actors considered enemies, and apply them in reference to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Mr Albin Kurti, implies the normalisation of the logic of secret operations as a tool of threat and direct destabilisation in the Balkans”.
Sveçla noted that Vulin’s statements carry particular weight given his long standing institutional roles in Serbia’s security structures and his documented political ties with Moscow.
“It is well known that Aleksandar Vulin has maintained close political and institutional relations with Russia, including intelligence structures, as well as with the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic. For this activity the United States has placed him under sanctions, citing among other things links and cooperation with Russian intelligence actors”.
The Kosovo minister also referred to the historical record of violence targeting Albanian political activists during the Cold War period, stating that when Vulin claims Serbian intelligence “knows how to do this”, the remark evokes a troubling precedent.
“Our recent history shows that Serbian intelligence structures were involved in the assassination of prominent Albanian political activists such as Jusuf Gervalla, Bardhosh Gervalla and Kadri Zeka. Therefore when Vulin says Serbian intelligence ‘knows how to do this’, he refers to a dangerous precedent”.
Sveçla further disclosed that in the second week of February Kosovo authorities arrested two Belarusian citizens and one Russian citizen who had entered Kosovo illegally after initially staying in Serbia2. According to Kosovo officials, the men possessed military experience, specialist training with explosives and equipment used for navigation and operational planning.
“Besides their military experience and specialist explosives training, they possessed equipment for orientation, camouflage and the execution of operational plans, elements that correspond with the rhetoric articulated by Vulin”, Sveçla said, adding that the case remains under investigation.
Kosovo’s Defence Minister Ejup Maqedonci also issued a separate response after remarks by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic during the presentation of Serbia’s national development strategy “Serbia 2030”, in which Vucic reiterated Belgrade’s refusal to recognise Kosovo’s statehood.
“Statements by Aleksandar Vucic that Kosovo is part of Serbia and that ‘currently there is no partner in Kosovo to talk to’ represent the continuation of a political narrative that denies reality and seeks to keep the entire region under tension”, Maqedonci said3.
“The Republic of Kosovo is an independent and sovereign state with legitimate institutions deriving from the democratic will of its citizens. This reality is irreversible”.
Maqedonci warned that Serbia’s strategic planning documents also signal a significant expansion of military capacity, including major increases in defence spending, investments in new weapons systems and the development of drone technology and advanced digital military capabilities.
“When these developments are accompanied by direct territorial claims against Kosovo and rhetoric that denies our statehood as well as the hegemonic project of the ‘Serbian World’, they create real concerns for security and stability in the region”, he said.
The minister also referenced the armed attack in September 2023 in the village of Banjska in northern Kosovo, which Kosovo authorities have described as a terrorist assault organised by Serbian backed paramilitary structures.
“These developments clearly demonstrate that hegemonic approaches within political circles in Serbia often translate into concrete actions that endanger regional security”.
The renewed tensions arrive against a wider geopolitical backdrop in which Serbia has increasingly balanced its relations between the European Union and longstanding political and security ties with Russia. Vulin in particular has been among the most outspoken Serbian officials advocating a strategic partnership with Moscow.
During a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin he described Serbia not only as a partner but as an ally of Russia.
“Serbia is not only a strategic partner of Russia, it is also an ally of Russia. Serbia will never become a NATO member and will never introduce sanctions against the Russian Federation”, Vulin said.
Video: Aleksandar Vulin tells Vladimir Putin that Serbia is "not only a strategic partner of Russia but also an ally", pledging that Serbia will never join NATO or impose sanctions on Moscow.
The United States Treasury imposed sanctions on Vulin in July 2023, alleging involvement in corruption, organised crime networks and the misuse of public office. According to the Treasury statement4, the sanctions were also linked to alleged cooperation with Russian intelligence actors.
Vulin subsequently resigned from his position as head of the BIA intelligence agency later that year, stating that he wished to avoid further international pressure on Serbia.
The episode has renewed debate among analysts about the effectiveness of Western engagement with Belgrade. Despite repeated tensions with Kosovo and Serbia’s refusal to join European sanctions against Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, Western governments have continued diplomatic outreach and economic cooperation with the Serbian leadership.
European officials have framed this engagement as necessary to anchor Serbia within the European political orbit and reduce Moscow’s influence in the Balkans. Critics, however, argue that the strategy risks emboldening increasingly nationalist rhetoric and undermining democratic institutions in the region.
In September 2024 an analysis published5 by The Gunpowder Chronicles warned that Western policies toward Serbia risked enabling the consolidation of an increasingly autocratic system in Belgrade while leaving Kosovo exposed to political pressure and security threats.
At the time the report noted that Serbia continued to maintain deep military and energy ties with Russia while simultaneously receiving financial support and diplomatic engagement from the European Union and individual Western governments.
The latest exchange of statements between Belgrade and Pristina illustrates the fragile equilibrium that continues to define the Western Balkans more than two decades after the end of the Yugoslav wars. Kosovo remains recognised by more than one hundred countries but Serbia continues to reject its independence, and dialogue mediated by the European Union has repeatedly stalled.
For Kosovo officials, Vulin’s remarks and Serbia’s broader political messaging represent more than rhetorical escalation.
They signal, they argue, the persistence of a security doctrine that treats Kosovo’s democratic leadership not as a negotiating partner but as a target of political confrontation.
Whether Western governments will respond more forcefully to such rhetoric remains an open question. For now, the region once again finds itself navigating the familiar fault lines of unresolved sovereignty, geopolitical rivalry and competing visions of the Balkans’ future.
Xhelal Svecla’s Facebook Post, 4 March, 2026.
Inside the Travel Trail Linking Moscow Belgrade and Kosovo
EXCLUSIVE: Documents show Moscow–Belgrade transit days before the Drenas arrests. Officials called it illegal entry. The equipment found suggests something more complicated. — The GPC Investigations Desk.
Ejup Maqedonci’s Facebook Statement, March 8, 2026.
Designation of Corrupt Official in Serbia — US Treasury Department.
Diplomacy or Disaster? The Risks of the West’s Approach to Serbia’s Vucic
Western powers’ appeasement of Serbia’s autocratic regime contradicts democratic values, enabling Russian influence and threatening Balkan stability. It’s time for a principled recalibration. — The GPC Balkan Dispatch.