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June 2, 2023 - 11:30am
The melee of riot shields and baseball bats fought between Serb protesters and Nato peacekeepers this week has come at a delicate time for the American-European alliance. With the West focused on Ukraine, such violent clashes, in what is effectively a Nato protectorate acquired in easier times, are an unwelcome development for an unstable region — and for the overall Nato strategy.
The immediate spark was Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s attempt to install ethnic Albanian officials in the ethnic Serb-majority North Kosovo region. The local Serbs had boycotted the election, with less than 4% of the region’s population taking part in voting. Yet, in justifying his move, Kurti nevertheless insisted that “it is the right of those elected in democratic elections to assume office without threats or intimidation”, dismissing the protesters as “Serbian mobs and fascist militia”.
But unfortunately for Kurti, a divisive pan-Albanian nationalist, Nato disagreed with this assessment. To his chagrin, the United States immediately sanctioned his government, ejecting Kosovo from the forthcoming Defender 23 military exercise, pausing diplomatic visits, and freezing attempts to further integrate Kosovo into Nato and EU structures, or achieve wider international recognition.
In a statement of unprecedented criticism, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that “the United States strongly condemns the actions by the Government of Kosovo to access municipal buildings in the north of Kosovo by force, actions it took against the advice of the United States and Kosovo’s European partners” which “have sharply and unnecessarily escalated tensions”.
Where America led, the rest of Nato swiftly followed: Britain and France similarly condemned Kurti’s actions, with France and Germany demanding new elections in northern Kosovo to resolve the crisis. Initially unrepentant, Kurti accused Kosovo’s Western patrons of “appeasing” Serbia while dismissing their response as “out of proportion and unfair” and insisting that “the violent mob has to leave — either by going to prison or to Serbia”.
Ultimately, though, Kurti has overreached at a perilous moment. Vladimir Putin has repeatedly cited Nato’s 1999 carve-up of Kosovo from the then-Yugoslavia as both a great historical injustice and a precursor for his own supposed humanitarian intervention in the Donbas. Back in 2014, the Kremlin explicitly cited “the Kosovo precedent” for the Crimea referendum on unification with Russia, in which 95.5% of the population purportedly backed the annexation.
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SubscribeWhy was Kosovo created within boundaries that included 90% + Serb territory?
Was it laziness (historic boundaries of Kosovo province)?
Was it ignorance (if it’s Tuesday this must be Belgium)?
Was it simpleton idealism (everyone must get along, Tito should have lived forever)?
Was it spite (rub the Serbs’ noses in it, Russian noses also)?
The State Department’s legacies are equal or worse than those of the Foreign Office.
American foreign policy has always been a joke since the first World War and continues to be so to this day. They remind me of the school playground bully , winding the small lad up to go and fight, while he holds their jacket and cheers the other side on, revelling in the choas and mayhem. Consider the swathes of destruction, death and instability that their self serving interfering (sorry foreign policy) has left across the globe. We need only remember the insurrection and civil wars encouraged and funded across South America by the US, the colonial oppression of Mexico, the carving up of resources and blatant bribery across Africa, and the absolute carnage in the Middle East and the Far East over the last fifty + years all thanks to their diplomatic abilities(?). Why would their involvement in Europe be any different? The difference between Russia and America – Putin doesn’t try to hide the fact he is narcissistic.
American foreign policy has always been a joke since the first World War and continues to be so to this day. They remind me of the school playground bully , winding the small lad up to go and fight, while he holds their jacket and cheers the other side on, revelling in the choas and mayhem. Consider the swathes of destruction, death and instability that their self serving interfering (sorry foreign policy) has left across the globe. We need only remember the insurrection and civil wars encouraged and funded across South America by the US, the colonial oppression of Mexico, the carving up of resources and blatant bribery across Africa, and the absolute carnage in the Middle East and the Far East over the last fifty + years all thanks to their diplomatic abilities(?). Why would their involvement in Europe be any different? The difference between Russia and America – Putin doesn’t try to hide the fact he is narcissistic.
Why was Kosovo created within boundaries that included 90% + Serb territory?
Was it laziness (historic boundaries of Kosovo province)?
Was it ignorance (if it’s Tuesday this must be Belgium)?
Was it simpleton idealism (everyone must get along, Tito should have lived forever)?
Was it spite (rub the Serbs’ noses in it, Russian noses also)?
The State Department’s legacies are equal or worse than those of the Foreign Office.
Kosovo that was Serbian until the Turks built mosques over much of it?
I often wonder if this is the future that awaits Europe and at how rare the reverse process is.
Kosovo that was Serbian until the Turks built mosques over much of it?
I often wonder if this is the future that awaits Europe and at how rare the reverse process is.
Unherd refuses to post my remarks made in the context of a place I lived and worked in after NATOs war. Kosovo as per UN resolution 1244 is a part of Serbia. But the truth will scarcely emerge in slanted pieces as this .
Unherd refuses to post my remarks made in the context of a place I lived and worked in after NATOs war. Kosovo as per UN resolution 1244 is a part of Serbia. But the truth will scarcely emerge in slanted pieces as this .
A return to form for Aris, explaining a regional story in a global context with an understanding for the parties involved. The only thing that might still be missing is the discussion around the Association of Serb Municipalities, the solution which both sides agreed to and theoretically could have paved the way for a resolution. However, the fact that it hasn’t been implemented has led to accusations of bad faith from Serbia’s side, which sees withholding recognition of Kosovo as its only leverage. The deployment of Serbian army is more a sign of desperation by Serbia, trying to get Prishtina to abide its commitments. The West is now noticing that Kurti is abusing their support. The West still has to decide if it wants to reconcile the region, in which case it needs to pressure both sides, or if will back one party over the other, in which case the losing party will keep seeking other great power support and add new powder to the powder keg.
A return to form for Aris, explaining a regional story in a global context with an understanding for the parties involved. The only thing that might still be missing is the discussion around the Association of Serb Municipalities, the solution which both sides agreed to and theoretically could have paved the way for a resolution. However, the fact that it hasn’t been implemented has led to accusations of bad faith from Serbia’s side, which sees withholding recognition of Kosovo as its only leverage. The deployment of Serbian army is more a sign of desperation by Serbia, trying to get Prishtina to abide its commitments. The West is now noticing that Kurti is abusing their support. The West still has to decide if it wants to reconcile the region, in which case it needs to pressure both sides, or if will back one party over the other, in which case the losing party will keep seeking other great power support and add new powder to the powder keg.
Having lived and worked in the region during the early years of the UN Mission I wish the writer had recalled Resolution 1244 by which Kosovo is still a part of Serbia. NATO knows it is on a slippery slope here. And the circumstances of the elections leading to Albanian mayors in Serb dominated municipalities was highly dubious. None of which this writer mentions other than his characteristic Russia bashing.
Having lived and worked in the region during the early years of the UN Mission I wish the writer had recalled Resolution 1244 by which Kosovo is still a part of Serbia. NATO knows it is on a slippery slope here. And the circumstances of the elections leading to Albanian mayors in Serb dominated municipalities was highly dubious. None of which this writer mentions other than his characteristic Russia bashing.