When the armed conflict with Serbia broke out in 1998, Rugova was sidelined by the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army, as many ethnic Albanians considered him too passive.
Kada je 1998. godine izbio oružani sukob sa Srbijom, Rugova je istisnut od strane pobunjenika iz Oslobodilačke vojske Kosova, dok su ga mnogi lokalni Albanci smatrali suviše pasivnim.