Incident at Skopje Airport: attempt to confiscate Kosovo President’s phone sparks altercation and diplomatic tensions
An incident involving Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani at Skopje International Airport has triggered significant diplomatic fallout. According to Bekim Kupina, Osmani’s media advisor, Skopje airport security attempted to confiscate the President’s personal phone and even physically pushed her.
Why is this significant
It remains to be seen whether this is an individual action by overzealous airport security. In the past, the ruling North Macedonian party, the nationalist VMRO-DPMNE has not had very warm relations with Kosovo.
What happened
Kupina reported that the incident contravened international practices and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Despite explanations provided by Osmani’s team, the airport security official persisted, leading to a physical confrontation that required police intervention to resolve. The airport’s actions were described as a serious breach of diplomatic norms.
The incident escalated when the airport’s security also took Osmani’s personal hand luggage, despite it being against established protocols. The security team’s behavior was labeled as unprecedented and in violation of international conventions governing the treatment of state leaders.
The Democratic Union for Integration, the major Albanian political party that is now in opposition condemned the incident as a “scandalous diplomatic affront,” criticizing the actions of the North Macedonian officials involved. BDI called for political and legal accountability for those responsible.
VLEN, the Albanian coalition of political parties allied to VMRo – DPMNE defended the airport’s actions, stating that security procedures were in line with legal requirements. They attributed the incident to a misunderstanding, rejecting accusations of any improper conduct. VLEN also criticized BDI for allegedly spreading misinformation that could damage relations between Kosovo and North Macedonia.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kosovo expressed concern over the treatment of President Osmani and is currently seeking official clarifications from North Macedonian authorities. They emphasized their commitment to ensuring that such incidents do not happen again.
Meanwhile, the North Macedonian Ministry of the Interior confirmed the incident but claimed that the airport’s security actions were standard procedure for all passengers, including those in VIP sections. They are conducting an internal review to address the matter.
The altercation has led to calls for a thorough investigation and has strained diplomatic relations.
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