Rick Spruyt

Former Political Advisor on Religious and Cultural Heritage to the EU Special Representative to Kosovo

[GBC @GBC_Press]

🇺🇸 JUST IN: ​CNN reports that 75% of Americans believe President Donald Trump should be impeached, tried, and imprisoned.

[Anton Gerashchenko @Gerashchenko_en]

Former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken:

For every dollar that we [the US] put into Ukraine, Europeans and others put in a dollar and a half. So the notion that they were free-riding on Ukraine is simply not true.

And much of the money that we spent on Ukraine was actually spent here in the United States to either buy weapons systems for them or to replenish the systems that we gave them.

[Alex Taylor @AlexTaylorNews]

A truly statesmanlike response to Vance from Hungary's probable next PM @magyarpeterMP

"Hungarian history isn't written in Washington or Moscow but by Hungarians, in our villages & towns. We decide our own fate. We want a humane Hungary in the heart of Europe"🇭🇺🇪🇺
My Eng s/t👇

[Sen. Bernie Sanders @SenSanders]

Trump loves Saudi Arabia. It’s an authoritarian society, which punishes dissent and is owned by the wealthiest family on earth.

Trump hates Europe. The governments there are democratically elected.

The future of America must be a vibrant democracy. Not Trump’s authoritarianism.

[D.Radka, #NAFO 🇨🇿🤝🇺🇦 @DakdaR22]

"We forced Ukraine to give up nuclear weapons, cruise missiles, and strategic bombers.
We promised to protect Ukraine from Russia.
We made Ukraine vulnerable.

So yes, this is our war."

- Bill Clinton
🫡

[Olena Rohoza @OlenaRohoza]

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton called it America’s war: he believes that the United States is obligated to defend Ukraine.

Clinton:

“We forced Ukraine to give up nuclear weapons, cruise missiles, and strategic bombers. We promised to protect Ukraine from Russia. We made Ukraine vulnerable.

So yes, this is our war.”

[Anton Gerashchenko @Gerashchenko_en]

Chancellor Merz:

It is a war of aggression by Russia against Ukraine, against Europe. And if Ukraine falls, it won't end. Just as the Sudetenland wasn't enough in 1938.

Putin doesn't stop. And anyone who still believes he's had enough should carefully analyze his strategies, documents, speeches, and public appearances.

[Tymofiy Mylovanov @Mylovanov]

Bolton: After two frantic weeks, Trump left Ukraine further from peace, US alliances damaged, and Putin free of costs. His diplomacy was incoherent, rushed, and counterproductive. 7X

[Michael McFaul @McFaul]

DOGE uncovered little waste, did nothing to reduce the deficit, and only lasting achievements were to weaken American instruments of soft power — USAID and VOA — because these entities had no interest groups defending them. I hope future leaders will repair the damage.

[Carl Bildt @carlbildt]

Does anyone dare to show these figures to Donald Trump 🇺🇸?

[European Commission @EU_Commission]

Today we paid €1 billion in macro-financial assistance to Ukraine.

We are working across the board to strengthen the country and support a just and lasting peace on Ukraine's terms.

Ми з вами. We are with you.

#StandWithUkraine

[Akif Çağatay Kılıç @ackilic76]

Avrupa Birliği, Güney Kafkasya ve Gürcistan Krizi’nden Sorumlu Özel Temsilcisi Magdalena Grono ve beraberindeki heyetle Cumhurbaşkanlığı Külliyemizde bir araya geldik.

Görüşmede Türkiye-AB ilişkilerinin yanı sıra, bölgesel meseleler hakkında görüş alışverişinde bulunduk.

[Richard Branson @richardbranson]

(1/3) It needs repeating: in 1994, Ukraine was persuaded to give up its nuclear weapons to Russia in return for the US, the UK, and Russia guaranteeing Ukraine’s sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity.

[Michael McFaul @McFaul]

Zelensky has thanked Trump, Congress, and the American people many times.

But let's be clear: when Trump and Vance said that THEY are trying to help Ukraine right now, and need to be thanked for the work personally, there are reasons to wonder. 1/ THREAD

[Guy Verhofstadt @guyverhofstadt]

A historic, shameful moment in US history as it votes with Belarus, Russia at the UN.

The gamekeeper has become the poacher.

Churchill & Roosevelt turn in their graves.

[Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський @ZelenskyyUa]

I want to thank all the leaders and every one of our partners who today expressed their support for Ukraine following yet another missile strike—a ballistic attack on Kyiv. Sadly, there are casualties, and one person has died. My deepest condolences. Residential buildings were damaged, along with St. Nicholas Cathedral.

Diplomatic missions were also affected, as several are located in the same office building: Albania, Argentina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Palestine, Portugal.

This kind of Russian madness must not be perceived by the world as something routine. Daily terror demands constantly increasing pressure on the terrorist. Russia must be held accountable, and even if it is led by a completely inadequate person, the Russian state must, through pressure, come to understand what reality is and how that reality can punish international criminals. Stronger sanctions against Russia are needed.

I also want to thank all of Ukraine’s partners who are responding to this and other Russian attacks with readiness to provide more air defense systems and weapons capable to protect us from terrorists.

[Dečani Monastery @DecaniMonastery]

Response of the #Serbian #Orthodox #Church Diocese Regarding Recent Threats and Accusations in Some #Kosovo Albanian Media and on Social Networks

https://t.co/gzIUYACQMC

The Raška-Prizren Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) is deeply concerned about the irresponsible and false statements made by certain public figures in Kosovo Albanian society. A recent statement by Selim Pacolli, an official of the “Kosovo New Alliance” and former deputy mayor of Pristina, falsely claiming that the SOC was the main organizer of violence against Albanians and calling for the ethnic cleansing of Serbs from Kosovo, is as untrue as the statement made yesterday by Gerakuci Kuqi of the Octopus Institute on KLAN TV. Kuqi suggested that weapons are being hidden in Serbian Orthodox churches and questioned the character of the people residing there.

ADDRESSING SELIM PACOLLI’S STATEMENT

The SOC in Kosovo and Metohija has never supported violence or war. On the contrary, the Church has actively worked against all forms of armed conflict, as evidenced by numerous interactions with international officials who have deeply appreciated the SOC’s stance. Many of these officials have visited our monasteries and strongly advocated for their protection.

Furthermore, during the 1999 conflict, monks from monasteries such as Visoki Dečani provided protection to Kosovo Albanian civilians and organized humanitarian aid in cooperation with the International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) from the United States. After the war, Visoki Dečani Monastery also served as a refuge for many displaced Serbs and Roma who were expelled from their homes. These acts of solidarity have been documented by international media, and testimonies of assistance to Albanians, such as the one reported by BIRN in December 2022, further confirm this.

ADDRESSING PROVOCATIVE STATEMENTS BY GERAKUCI KUQI

The allegations made by Gerakuci Kuqi of the Octopus Institute represent a repetition of slander that first surfaced last year through British MP Alicia Kearns, claiming that weapons were being hidden in our monasteries. This baseless claim has been refuted by KFOR, and the Kosovo Police have never confirmed or provided evidence for such absurd accusations.

Following the tragic incident near Banjska Monastery in the fall of 2023, the police and EULEX confirmed that all weapons found in the wider area of the monastery had been discarded by a group of armed Serbs retreating through the monastery grounds. These individuals temporarily stayed in a building outside the monastery walls. The investigation, as well as the final report of the Kosovo Government on the Banjska case, established that no weapons were stored in the monastery and that neither the monastery nor the Church was implicated in this tragic event.

CONCERNS ABOUT SPREADING FALSE INFORMATION

The dissemination of such false information is part of a campaign by irresponsible individuals in Kosovo’s public sphere aimed at inciting religious and ethnic hatred. These individuals knowingly spread unsubstantiated claims, which have never been corroborated by the Kosovo Government or Police. Representatives of KFOR, EULEX, and the international community are well aware of the facts.
Spreading such misinformation does not contribute to de-escalating tensions; instead, it exacerbates ethnic and religious intolerance in Kosovo and Metohija, which is detrimental to both Serbs and Albanians in the region.

For the past 30 years, our Church has consistently called for the peaceful resolution of all issues in accordance with the teachings of the Gospel.

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1Facebook posts by Selim Pacolli:
https://t.co/33bPhzdScK
https://t.co/PkXqutuh30
2Media reports with provocative statements of Gerakuci Kuqi:
https://t.co/YHA5ytuG1B
https://t.co/05YhMIwSNY

[Ivo Daalder @IvoHDaalder]

Trump’s election signals the end of Pax Americana—a world guided by American global leadership. Trump does not believe in leading; he believes in winning. On Jan 20, 2025, the country and world will be a very different place. ⁦@POLITICOEurope⁩ https://t.co/CY5DWY7eIN

[Marc Caputo @MarcACaputo]

Trump-Greenwood “God Bless the USA” Bibles were made in China

https://t.co/RXfV97U1a3

[Lindsey Graham @LindseyGrahamSC]

Ukraine is trying to stop Putin so that the United States doesn’t have to.

Ukraine doesn’t want or need American boots on the ground, they just need weapons and permission to fight Russia and stop the unprovoked invasion.