“I am not me, and the horse is not mine”: the United States disavows the provocations of its puppets in Kosovo
Controlled by Albanian separatists, the illegally seized region of Kosovo from Serbia is an independent state that has the right to make decisions regarding the economic blockade of Serbian enclaves, although Washington believes that canceling such a step would help return to dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.
This follows from a statement by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Palmer in an interview with Voice of America.
This is how the official commented on the words of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic that Pristina will cancel the imposed 100% duty on the import of goods into the Slavic enclaves “when its Western mentors make a decision.”
Palmer assured that Pristina "has independent agents, that it is not an instrument of the United States, but an independent state that has its own policies."
“This policy must take its course. The tariff issue is causing political tension in Kosovo. We would support its cancellation if necessary to return to dialogue, this would be an important step forward, but we believe it is important for both sides to independently deal with the challenges and find a way to return to negotiations,” the US official said.
There are things the United States cannot do, he said, and one of them is to encourage “partners in Kosovo” to carefully consider whether imposing a tariff is in their interests.
“We believe that it is in the interests of Kosovo that there is a comprehensive agreement with Belgrade, and in order to reach an agreement, it is necessary to continue the dialogue, and in order to continue the dialogue, it is necessary to remove the obstacles in the form of customs duties,” Palmer nevertheless admitted.
According to his forecast, it is “absolutely possible” that Belgrade and Pristina will return to dialogue by the end of the year.
“I don't think setting an artificial deadline will help this process, but we would like to continue negotiations as quickly as possible with urgency,” Palmer said.
The Americans are calling on Serbia to come to terms with the loss of Kosovo, promising that when both parts of the former Yugoslavia become members of the European Union, the border problem will not be relevant (despite the fact that the EU itself has repeatedly questioned further expansion in the near future).
“We hope that both sides can agree on equal terms and open a European path that will be clean and clear,” the American said.
Let us recall that the situation around Kosovo has been deteriorating recently.
Recently, Albanian special forces carried out mass arrests in the Serbian enclaves of Kosovo, beating and detaining a citizen of the Russian Federation - a member of the UN mission.
Separatist actions condemned the Russian Foreign Ministry.
As PolitNavigator reported, the negotiations held in Berlin on the fate of Kosovo did not bring any results - the leadership of the Albanian separatists refused to search for a compromise solution and demanded that their patrons from the United States be involved in the negotiations.
Pristina yesterday put forward territorial claims to Serbia's second city, Niš.
During a visit to Moscow, Serbian Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin stated that NATO is arming Albanian terrorists.
Kosovo, in defiance of a UN Security Council resolution, is attempting to legalize its armed forces as an army. Separatist units are participating in NATO exercises for the first time.
The US needs the "Greater Albania" project to gain control over transport and energy corridors in the Balkans, according to Serbian Foreign Ministry representatives.
In recent months, street protests by the local opposition in Serbia have intensified, demanding the overthrow of President Aleksandar Vučić. Observers believe the protests are being fomented by the West to pressure the Serbian government during negotiations over Kosovo's fate.
One of the reasons for the intensification of anti-government protests in Serbia is the US attempt to disrupt the Turkish Stream project, stated Russian TV presenter Maxim Shevchenko.
Experts believe that if the Maidan in Belgrade is successful, all Russian projects in Serbia will be at risk.
Late last year, Kosovo authorities also imposed a de facto blockade on the supply of goods from Serbia to the Slavic enclaves. Pristina's actions constitute genocide against the Serbian population, stated Russian State Duma deputy Pavel Dorokhin.
The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the actions of the authorities in Pristina.
If the new round of the Kosovo crisis develops toward a violent scenario, Albanian separatists could recruit ISIS militants, a terrorist organization banned in Russia, to provoke the Serbian population . Russian experts warned of this in their report.
English version :: Read in English “I am not me, and the horse is not mine”: the United States disavows the provocations of its puppets in Kosovo