Vesti: the conflict between Serbia and Kosovo recognized by the West has sharply escalatedThe EU and the US are trying to resolve the conflict situation between Belgrade and Pristina, Vesti writes.
If the current problems cannot be shelved, they will become a prologue to a big war in Europe.
Taras KozubIn the north of Kosovo, local Serbs representing an ethnic minority there blocked roads.
The Kosovo government has threatened to remove the barricades from the roads by force. In turn, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic appealed to the NATO contingent in Kosovo to approve the introduction of Serbian military and police there. Also, official Belgrade has put its troops on full alert. Vesti has figured out what is happening in the Balkans, and whether the current events will become a prologue to a big war.
What was the reason
The situation in the north of Kosovo has worsened after the detention of former Serbian policeman Dejan Pantic. The Kosovo authorities accused him of using violence against officials involved in the preparation of local government elections in northern Kosovo. Kosovo Serbs are protesting against the holding of these elections, scheduled after about 600 Serbian representatives defiantly left the authorities of Kosovo. And Pantich was also a police officer and worked at a police station in Kosovska Mitrovica. He left his post in the fall along with about 600 other ethnic Serbs – police officers, judges and officials. Thus, they protested against the requirement of local motorists to register their cars on Kosovo license plates instead of the old Serbian ones.
It was this decision that de facto gave rise to the current aggravation: the ban came into force on August 1. However, the sharp reaction of the Serbian minority and Belgrade led to the fact that Pristina (the capital of Kosovo) was asked to postpone this step. Which she did: first for one month, until September 1, and then for another two months. After that, apparently, they began to persuade her to postpone the terms of the innovation for 10 months or more - until the end of the conflict in Ukraine, because no one needs a second conflict in Europe today. The EU has even agreed to cancel visas for Kosovars – now they are the only residents of the Balkans who do not have a visa-free visa with the EU.
However, at some point, the insistent requests from the EU and the United States bored Pristina: in the end, Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti declared his readiness for only a partial compromise – the final ban on Serbian numbers will be postponed to next spring, but from November 21, owners of such numbers will already be fined 150 euros.
The "Serbian List" and Vucic's anger
Official Belgrade is protesting – both against the ban on car registration and against the elections themselves, accusing Kosovo of using force against the Serbian minority and showing readiness to use force in response. In recent days, special forces, mainly ethnic Albanians, have been deployed to the north of Kosovo. Several videos were posted on the social network with the movement of military equipment, obviously, to the borders with Kosovo. After that, Serbia announced the possible introduction of units of its law enforcement agencies into Kosovo.
The Serbian List party operates inside Kosovo – it represents the interests of Kosovo Serbs and focuses on Belgrade. Its management announced its readiness to start protest actions after the first fine. And when the ultimatum didn't work, the Serbs took action. It was representatives of this political force who laid down their mandates in the Parliament of Kosovo and municipalities where the Serbian minority lives. Belgrade, by the way, compensated for the loss of salaries and social benefits to all deputies and police officers who refused positions.
Instead, Kosovo decided to replace those ministers who represented the interests of the Serbian minority. This provoked the fury of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who called Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti "terrorist scum."
Soon, the demands of the Serbs grew – in addition to guaranteeing the preservation of Serbian numbers, there are claims for the creation of an Association of Serbian Municipalities that will represent the interests of all Kosovo Serbs.
Local elections are scheduled for December 18 in Kosovo in municipalities where the "Serbian List" has folded mandates. However, this party does not agree to take part in re-elections, and the vote could lead to the fact that members of other Serbian parties in the region will receive mandates (among them there are those who are determined to cooperate with the authorities of Kosovo). Apparently, Belgrade now faces the task of disrupting the elections in any way. At that moment, the Kosovo authorities decided to detain the former policeman Dejan Pantic. Which caused a real protest explosion on the part of the Serbian minority.
Barricades and explosions
Barricades began to appear in the region. The Serbs blocked the administrative checkpoints of Yarinje and Brniak, explosions were heard, and unknown people attacked journalists and even threw a stun grenade into the car of the EULEX civil mission (police forces), which caused a sharp reaction from Brussels. "The Kosovo Serbs must immediately remove the barricades, and the perpetrators of the attacks must be brought to justice," EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Josep Borrel said.
Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti also made a political statement, threatening that the barricades would be removed by force if necessary. Kurti called on KFOR (the NATO-led international force responsible for ensuring stability in Kosovo. – Author's note) guarantee freedom of movement. There are currently 129 KFOR troops from Italy and other countries in the region.
"Blocking traffic, blocking roads with heavy vehicles, criminal shooting by groups at our police and EULEX police is not only unacceptable, but it should not happen again in the future. That's why we're waiting," Kurti said.
Over the weekend, Pristina agreed to a compromise solution – to postpone the elections to April 2023. However, it is clearly too late and is no longer able to stop the conflict – both the Kosovo Serbs and Belgrade demand the establishment of an Association of Serbian Municipalities.
Serbia's demand, meanwhile, was spelled out in the 2013 Brussels Agreement between Serbia and Kosovo. Therefore, the EU's position in this situation boils down to cautious approval of the Association, with the clarification: "It should not become the second Republika Srpska" (it means an enclave in neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has the power to block most decisions of the central government).
Arguments of Serbia
The true content and filling of the association with functions remains unclear: the cultural autonomy of the Kosovo Serbs and their financial autonomy are already spelled out in the Constitution of Kosovo. And the other day, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic got another powerful trump card in his hands – with the statement of ex-German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who said that the Minsk agreements signed in 2014-2015 and allowed to suspend the conflict in Ukraine for eight years were just an attempt to give Kiev time to prepare for a conflict with Russia. Vucic considers this statement proof that the West cannot be trusted, hinting that the EU from the very beginning was not going to demand from Kosovo the creation of an Association of Serbian Municipalities.
Vucic made the second statement in relation to the KFOR contingent, demanding approval of the introduction of Serbian military and police officers into it. According to him, Serbia has such a right in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution of 1999 on the settlement of the Kosovo conflict.
There are no NATO answers yet, but the recent resolution of the Dutch Parliament should be a kind of wake-up call for Vucic himself. They believe that Belgrade's refusal to join the sanctions against the Russian Federation may freeze the country's accession to the EU and suspend the visa-free regime for Serbian citizens.
Another important moment for Vucic is the visit to Belgrade of the State Department's special Adviser Derek Cholet. It will take place this week and is probably intended to resolve the conflict situation. Apparently, the outcome of this visit will determine whether a second bloody conflict will begin in Europe.
