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All the grave mistakes of Europe regarding the crisis between Serbia and Kosovo, with Moscow in the background

2023-06-03 21:00:00, Blog Francesco De Palo

All the grave mistakes of Europe regarding the crisis between Serbia and Kosovo,

The thirst for stability and the seriousness of the clashes that have been going on for a long time make everything very alarming. This is what IAI analyst Matteo Bonomi says in an interview for Formiche.net regarding the recent clashes between Serbs and Kosovars , which led to the injury of 30 members of the NATO forces for Kosovo (KFOR), including 14 Italian soldiers. At this point, the Atlantic Alliance has decided to deploy Operational Reserve Forces for the Western Balkans.

Was the Kosovo government wrong when it held local elections in the north despite the Serb boycott?

It is difficult to determine exactly what was the main cause of these tensions. Of course there are actions and reactions from both sides. And what we can see is a strategy of tension that characterizes both Belgrade and Pristina.

There is no doubt that there was an excessive behavior on the part of Pristina, and above all the desire to put more force in the offices of the new mayors of the municipalities. The recent clashes fit into the general framework, which is a constantly tense and unresolved situation in the north of Kosovo.

There both sides have acted and made political gains, and now they are playing to raise or lower the level of tension, of course taking into account the current scenario in Europe. The thirst for stability and the gravity of the clashes that have been going on for a long time make everything very alarming.

What can be the response to the ambassadors of the Five countries?

I have referred earlier to the responsibility of Kosovo and Serbia. But it is clear that there is also a third party responsible: the European Union. At the moment, these events point to the lack of credibility of a long-term strategy towards the region.

We have seen how much diplomatic investment there has been in the last year to try to move this issue forward and resolve it. There has been no lack of commitment that recently led to the signing of the Ohrid Agreement. However, today everything has turned into an occasion for a further clash between the parties and is therefore being exploited by both sides.

How much does the internal situation in Serbia affect these developments?

Yes, we currently have large protests in the streets of Belgrade, which have not been seen since the 2000s. But on the other hand, I also see a Prime Minister of Kosovo, who is perhaps more democratic than his predecessors, who in a way also marked a break with past policies, where the elites had led the armed liberation of the country.

At the same time, Albin Kurti has always had a very radical attitude regarding the possibility of negotiations with Belgrade. Therefore, this scenario encourages us to emphasize the fact that the two careers of the two leaders were built on the use of this issue for internal purposes. This makes the panorama even more complicated, even in the light of another battle called propaganda. And of course, the Balkans is at the center of various battles and narratives.

Exactly at this point, Foreign Minister Kroseto said that there is a clear political will to increase the tension. Is he referring to Russia?

I'm not sure what he was talking about. But there is no doubt that the level of tension and nervousness in Europe is very high. This has been reflected for years, directly and indirectly, in all the unresolved situations we have in Europe.

And of course that in the Western Balkans is one of them.

For years we have lied to ourselves that by not seriously pursuing the policy of enlargement towards the region, sufficient results can be achieved, but not good ones. What has changed with the return of the war in Europe is a radical change of this status quo, which shows how these situations of apparent equilibrium are full of pitfalls and need to find a structural solution./ "Formiche" - Adapted from CNA.al