Today, the Republic of Kosovo faces a growing threat from Serbia, one which imperils its very existence and regional peace.

We urge the government of the United Kingdom to demonstrate strong and visible support for Kosovo at the forthcoming Berlin Process “Leaders Summit” in London on 22nd October. 

The UK has a proud record of supporting Kosovo; in 1999, it played a leading role in the NATO military intervention that ended the oppression of the Kosovo Albanians by the Milošević regime, and in 2008 it was one of the first to recognize Kosovo’s declaration of independence. As a result, the UK is regarded as a valued and trusted ally by the overwhelming majority of Kosovars. 

Kosovo is now one of the most democratic and pro-Western states in the region and recently ranked first in Europe for citizens’ sense of security and trust in law enforcement institutions. Serbia, by contrast, is a pro-Russian​ authoritarian state ruled by a corrupt cabal intent on provoking regional conflict.

Many of Serbia’s current leaders were members of Milošević’s government and continue to promote the same aggressive nationalism that caused so much death and destruction in the 1990s. President Aleksander Vučić – Milošević’s former Minister for Information – described Milošević in 2018 as “a great Serbian leader who undoubtedly had the best intentions”.

In pursuit of what they call a “Serbian World”, the Serbian government has enflamed separatist sentiments amongst Serb minorities throughout the Balkans, particularly in Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

Recent events illustrate the escalating severity of the threat to Kosovo:

• 29th May 2023: KFOR troops were attacked by Kosovo Serbs protesting at the election of Albanian mayors in Kosovo’s four northern municipalities.
• 14th June 2023: Three Kosovo police officers were kidnapped by Serbian police inside Kosovo and taken to Serbia.
• 4th July 2023: Alicia Kearns MP – the Chair of the UK Foreign Affairs Select Committee – warned that British troops had observed weapons being smuggled into Orthodox monasteries in northern Kosovo from Serbia. 
• 6th July 2023: Vučić claimed that the West and the Kosovo government were engaged in “ethnic cleansing against the Serbian people”. Despite the lack of any evidence, these claims have been made repeatedly ever since.
• 24th September 2023: A heavily armed Serbian militia launched what the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs described as a “hideous attack” against the Kosovo  police in Banjska, Kosovo, killing one officer, before taking refuge in an Orthodox monastery. The government of Serbia declared a day of mourning for the three militia men killed. The leader of the group – Milan Radoičić – is a close associate of Vučić and remains at large despite admitting to having been directly involved. The weapons used by the attackers were supplied from Serbia and the government of Kosovo has uncovered many caches of arms since the attack. 
• 29th November 2024: Serbian militia launched what the EU described as a “terrorist attack” against the Iber Lepenc/Ibar Lepenac water canal in Zubin Potok in northern Kosovo.  
• 26th September 2025: Kosovo’s Police Director and Interior Minister reveal that Kosovo's airspace has been violated by drones suspected of entering from Serbia. 

These incidents are part of a deliberate campaign to destabilise Kosovo and undermine peace in the Western Balkans. 

We urge the UK government at the the forthcoming Berlin Process “Leaders Summit” to:

• Publicly condemn Serbia’s increasing authoritarianism and its aggressive foreign policy, especially its attempts to destabilize Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• Demand that Serbia arrest and charge those responsible for the Banjska attack and press Serbia to reveal the location of mass graves containing victims of the 1998/99 war in Kosovo. 
• Oppose Serbia’s membership of international organisations – such as the EU and NATO – until Serbia respects democratic principles domestically; refrains from stoking separatism amongst Serbs in neighbouring states; commits to recognising existing state borders in the region; ceases removing Albanians living in Serbia from the population register; dismantles the Serbian militia inside Kosovo; 

We urge the UK government to demonstrate its commitment to Kosovo’s sovereignty by:

• Applying pressure on the non-recognisers within NATO and the EU to recognise Kosovo;
• Engaging in more joint military exercises with Kosovo;
• Increasing the presence of UK troops in Kosovo;
• Facilitating greater cooperation between NATO and Kosovo with a view to future membership;
• Investing more in Kosovo’s economic development through the provision of funding for business entrepreneurs and developing further educational exchange programmes.

Aggressive Serbian nationalism was the primary cause of the Balkan wars in the 1990s; action taken by the West proved decisive in ending the conflicts but came too late to prevent widespread destruction and death. Today, the UK has a chance to act early and decisively to prevent history from repeating itself.