President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani was involved in a physical conflict with airport security in Skopje on Thursday, which turned into a diplomatic dispute.
The incident began when Osmani, who was traveling from the Macedonian capital to Slovenia, refused to hand over her mobile phone to airport security, who asked to scan it, Egnesa Vitia, adviser to the president, told Kosovo media.
Vitia called the request “contrary to international practice” and said Osmani’s refusal to comply prompted a member of the airport staff to try to “push” the president.
“The president did not [hand over her phone] because that would be a serious offense,” Vitia said. “Despite the explanation of the rules that the president’s team made known to the airport official, he tried to physically push the president,” at which point Osmani’s security intervened, Vitia explained.
The president’s spokesman, Bekim Kupina, condemned the “arrogant and violent behavior” of the staff, adding that the fight was “unprecedented and has never happened on any of the president’s trips anywhere in the world.”
“It is clear that in this particular case, they wanted to provoke the delegation of the Republic of Kosovo and cause an incident,” said Kupina.
North Macedonia’s Interior Ministry confirmed the incident took place but gave a different account, saying a member of Osmani’s security physically pulled an airport staff member aside to allow Osmani to pass border control without her phone being scanned, according to a statement to Macedonian media.
The ministry statement added that half an hour later, three Kosovo security officials working for the Speaker of the Kosovo Parliament, Afrim Gashi, arrived at the airport “and began threatening employees [of Skopje International Airport] and asking who caused the problem to the president”, after which one of the officials “pushed a police officer working at the border crossing”.
In a statement to local media, Gashi’s office denied the statement, saying his security personnel “were only present to calm the situation” and resolve the dispute between Osmani staff and Skopje airport.
The Ministry of the Interior of North Macedonia announced that it had launched an investigation into the incident, which First Deputy Prime Minister Izet Mexhiti called a “misunderstanding”.
Representatives for Osmani and the Macedonian Interior Ministry did not respond to POLITICO’s request for comment before publication, N1 writes.
E.Dz.
