The Minister of Defense, Ejup Maqedonci, said that the groups of the September 24 terrorist attack in Banjska used weapons produced in the state factories of the Republic of Serbia and that they were trained by military instructors.

This is what he said at the “Balkan Disinformation Summit”, as he emphasized that they are working on the construction of a national training center for cyber security which will be inaugurated on March 26.

Maqedonci added that the Ministry of Defense and the Kosovo Security Forces have their own mechanisms to deal with disinformation.

“Normally, the answer to hybrid threats must be given through a hybrid approach, which means the commitment of many elements of state power to face this challenge of modern times, a challenge, and the truth is that it has been there also before, but hybrid threats as forms of war are increasing in terms of application by mainly autocratic countries which normally do not have this ethical and moral part in their politics. In this aspect, the Ministry of Defense and the Kosovo Security Forces has its own mechanisms to deal with it, everything starts with an analysis that is done in our system, more precisely in our decision-making processes, the first stage is always the analysis that implies that from that analysis to draw conclusions, and to separate the assumptions from the facts, but also to separate the part of disinformation, which is a method highlighted recently. Disinformation in the sense of defense also means the part of operational deception, the adversary disinforms not only with the aim of creating an unclear environment but also to create an opportunity to make an operational deception for the forces developing the defense of the territory or the country, this has been seen many times. We are currently working on building a national training center for cyber security, which is also part of the fight against disinformation and hybrid warfare. We plan to inaugurate this center during the month of March, more precisely on the 26th we will sign the training curriculum of this center”, said Maqedonci.

Also, Maqedonci considers that the Russian invasion in Ukraine has in some way influenced the destabilization of the Western Balkan region, more precisely in the north of Kosovo. He added that there is evidence that the groups of the September 24 terrorist attack in Banjska of Zveçan used weapons produced in the state factories of the Republic of Serbia, and were trained by military instructors, and they suspect that during this period, since the Russian humanitarian center exists in Nis, they could be trained and prepared by this center.

Regarding the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Maqedonci said that the Serbian president, Aleksandar Vucic, is neglecting the conclusion of the process, since according to him, he is waiting for the outcome of the war in Ukraine in order to assess the situation which would be favorable for the state of Serbia.

“The entire global security environment has changed after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and this has also been manifested with the incidents and fighting that are happening in the Middle East. But also with the increase in tensions in the Western Balkans, more precisely in the north of our country, where I consider that the war in Ukraine, i.e. the Russian invasion in Ukraine, in some way has also influenced the destabilization of the Western Balkans region and the encouragement of certain elements within the state structures of Serbia, but also other elements found in the region to develop activities to the detriment of stability and to undermine the region’s integration into the European Union and NATO. This was openly manifested on September 24 of last year when a group of armed and uniformed paramilitaries supported by the security structures of the Republic of Serbia attempted to seize land, a partial invasion of a part of the territory of our country. I consider that this was not done by chance, this was also done with the influence that the Russian secret service has in Serbian society but also in the institutions of the Republic of Serbia… We have evidence that these groups, based on the facts that have been found, have used weaponry produced in the state factories of the Republic of Serbia, have been trained by military instructors, and we suspect that during this period, since the Russian humanitarian center exists in Nis, they may be trained and prepared by this center… We consider that President Vucic, the current politics in Serbia are neglecting the issue of concluding the dialogue, of the agreement, in order to wait for the outcome of the war in Ukraine, in order to take the side that they consider to be good for them”, said Maqedonci.

Also, he said that there is a comprehensive transition plan that foresees the creation of the country’s defense capacity which is being built since 2019, which will culminate in the third phase that will start from 2025 to 2028 where the Kosovo Security Forces will be supported with other necessary military elements.

“In the Kosovo Security Forces, there is a plan that we call the all-inclusive transition plan, a plan that foresees the creation of the defense capacity of our country, more precisely our combat capacities for the defense of the territory. We have been building these capacities since 2019, we are currently in the second phase of the transition, which will culminate in the construction of three infantry regiments ready to conduct territory defense operations. All will culminate in the third phase that will begin in 2025 until 2028 where the Kosovo Security Forces will be supported with other necessary military elements such as air defense and air support”, he said.

In this summit, among other things, disinformation, the war in Ukraine, Artificial Intelligence (AI), the media and China’s influence in the Middle East were discussed.