2023-05-30 19:18:25
The violent disturbances in the north of Kosovowhose balance on Tuesday totaled more than 50 civilians and 30 military of NATO injured, have not left a clear picture for the region. After a new turn of bellicose rhetoric from the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo, more and more voices consider that the climbing it runs the risk of being permanent. And that just when theI’LL TAKE, the united states that day European Union (EU) they seek to put out all fires quickly because of the conflict in Ukraine.
Albin Kurti and Aleksandar Vučić, respectively, the Kosovar Prime Minister and the Serbian President, had the opportunity this Wednesday to calm the spirits. The EU had put on the table the possibility of a meeting between the two in Bratislava because address their differences and focus again on the European plan to normalize relations that has been discussed since last year. But the meeting will not take place. “His (Vučić’s) journey in Bratislava has been canceled due to the situation and the meeting was not even considered”, informed a spokeswoman for the Serbian Government to EL PERIÓDICO.
The reality is that, in the Kosovo crisis, territory previously linked to Serbia (and the independence of which it is not recognized by Belgrade), overlap today multiple crises and geostrategic failures of old and new mint. Some have a global character; others, regional. For example, the pulse between the two nationalist leaders, Vučić and Kurti, whose determination has recently led them to intervene in northern Kosovo almost without consulting their allies. But, alongside this, there is also the nervousness of the Serbian leader, who is suffering continued protests against him in your own country. A moment of fragility that Kurti did not waste to try to impose by force the Albanian mayors elected in controversial elections and that the Serb-Kosovars reject (only 3% voted), which it was the trigger of the riots i of Western condemnation of his initiative.
Tectonic movements
The former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kosovo Petrit Selimi he considers it the result of the “tectonic movements” that the war in Ukraine is causing. “The priority of the West today is that the Balkans remain stable until the existential threat is in Ukraine”, says Selimi. The repeated messages, with a very harsh tone, sent by USA, France, Italy, Germany and the UK, and the EU, a group of countries that has in the past widely supported Kosovo, are moving in that direction. So much so that they went so far as to warn that any “new unilateral action” will have a “negative impact» in the relationship with them.
Recent leaked documents of the American Pentagon, as well as several independent sources, have also shown that the underlying element is war Russo-Ukrainian. “They are going to reveal that Serbiaa country in which society is still largely pro-Russian, has begun to sell arms and ammunition to Ukraine», argues Selimi, insisting that this, however, coincides with the ambiguous position that Belgrade maintains with respect to Russia.
Additional cash
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It’s a separate issue day to day in the field, which the Serbian community living in northern Kosovo suffers from. There the feeling of a large part of the population is once again to be victims of the games between Belgrade, Pristina and the international community. “If they (the US and the EU) really want to resolve this conflict, why don’t they punish them by withdrawing funds and aid when they break agreements or refuse to negotiate?” complains Miograd Milicević, an analyst at the Aktiv center. based in Mitrovica. Moreover, Milicević also points out his discomfort with the attitude of listSerbian, Kosovar political party (near Belgrade) that he said could stop the violence and didn’t. “I know their first and last names,” he explains.
In this incendiary climate, NATO has opted for one show of strength. After announcing on Monday an increase in its presence on the streets of several towns in the north, this Tuesday the organization announced that it will deploy additional cash of the Operative Reserve Forces (ORF), due to the recent disturbances. These soldiers, NATO added, will be around 700 and may be on the ground in less than seven days. “It is a prudent measure to ensure that KFOR (the mission in Kosovo) has the capabilities it needs,” the organization explained. For its part, the US has decided to punish Kosovo by canceling its participation in the Defender 23 military exercise.
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