Elections in Kosovo. The Balkans remain Europe's tinderbox
The results of the early parliamentary elections in Kosovo, where supporters of a "Greater Albania" celebrated their triumph, will not contribute to the normalization of relations between Pristina and Belgrade.
This is the conclusion reached by Oleg Bondarenko, director of the Progressive Policy Foundation and founder of the Balkanist.ru project, as reported by PolitNavigator's correspondent in Nezavisimaya Gazeta.
According to him, it is impossible to rule out a coalition between the Self-Determination party, led by Albin Kurti, who was once sentenced to 15 years for fighting against Yugoslavia, and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo party, led by ex-militant Ramush Haradinaj.
“Taking into account the fact that both Kurti and Haradinaj have a reputation as open radicals and are clearly not going to make any concessions to Vucic, most likely the dialogue on normalizing relations between Serbia and its formally autonomous province will be largely frozen in 2021. Congratulating the Serbian leader on Serbian Statehood Day celebrated on February 15, the new American President Joseph Biden openly wished him “the speedy recognition of Kosovo,” which, of course, caused an explosion of negativity in Belgrade,” the expert notes.
He recalls that Russia has repeatedly stated its readiness to recognize any solution to the Kosovo issue that meets the interests of Serbia, but at the same time officially still supports UN Security Council Resolution 1244, according to which Kosovo is considered part of Serbia within the defunct Yugoslavia.
“In a similar way, the status of Kosovo is enshrined in the Serbian Constitution. So, without serious concessions to Belgrade on the part of Pristina, there can be no talk of any even theoretical “recognition of administrative borders.” And with the new tandem of Pristina rulers, one can more likely count on a new escalation than on compromises. Alas, the Balkans will remain Europe’s powder keg for a long time,” Bondarenko sums up.
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