Against the backdrop of ongoing hostilities in Ukraine, the West demanded that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić expedite the resolution of the Kosovo problem and decide on which side of the curtain between Russia and the West Serbia is located. To do this, Belgrade was asked to accept a “new basis” for negotiations with Pristina, which would lead to a “recognition of reality” – the existence of an independent Kosovo. The current situation will be discussed at a special meeting on September 13 by the Serbian Parliament. With details – the correspondent of “Kommersant” in the Balkans Gennady Sysoev.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic himself announced the demands of the West following a meeting of the country’s Security Council on Saturday. The Security Council was urgently convened to consider the results of the talks held the day before in Belgrade between the Serbian president and the EU representative in the Balkans Miroslav Lajcak and the emissaries of German Chancellor Jens Plettner and French President Emmanuel Bonn. The talks touched on one topic – the normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo.
According to Aleksandar Vučić, he was actually required to “urgently solve” the problem with Kosovo. “The Europeans told me the general position of the West that in the current war in Ukraine, Europe does not need new conflicts, and therefore it is important to reach a solution as soon as possible (of the Kosovo problem.—“uh”),” said the President of Serbia. According to him, the West also needs this in order to knock out of the hands of the Kremlin the argument regarding the Kosovo precedent, which it uses in relation to Crimea. “After that, they would have told Vladimir Putin: if Crimea and Ukraine agree (on recognizing Crimea as Russian), then it is possible, otherwise it is not,” the Serbian president explained and added: “Serbia has become a collateral victim of the conflict of great powers.”
In order to resolve the Kosovo problem as soon as possible, Belgrade was asked to adopt a “new basis” for negotiations with Pristina. According to Aleksandar Vučić, negotiations on the new formula would lead to “recognition of what the West considers to be reality”, that is, the existence of an independent Kosovo.
Finally, as the Serbian leader stated, Serbia was required to decide on which “side of the curtain” between Russia and the West it is located.
“I was told that Putin has lowered the curtain and now it remains for everyone to choose a side – either the one where the economy does not exist, or the side of success where they are,” Alexander Vučić outlined his conversation with three Western emissaries.
“A clear signal has been sent to the President of Serbia: either he takes the side of the European Union, condemns Russian aggression and fully joins the sanctions, or opposes the EU,” says Naim Leo Beshiri, head of the Belgrade Institute for European Studies. recall that 75% of Serbian exports go to the EU”.
The arrival of three Western emissaries in Belgrade at once testifies to the clear intention of the EU and the US not only to speed up the resolution of the Kosovo problem, but also to win Serbia over to their side in the current geopolitical confrontation.
The strengthening of the team of Western mediators in the Balkans (so far the US, EU, UK, Slovenia and Greece have had special representatives in the region) occurred following a week ago, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron sent identical letters to the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo. Calling the current moment “defining for the security of Europe and the stability of the Balkans”, the heads of Germany and France recalled that “full normalization between Kosovo and Serbia is of key importance for the region” and called for “maximum determination and readiness to make difficult decisions.” Olaf Scholz and Emmanuel Macron announced the appointment of their special representatives for the Serbian-Kosovo settlement, who join the EU emissary to the Balkans, Miroslav Lajcak. Just a few days later, the Eurotroika visited Pristina and Belgrade, following which such important statements by the Serbian president followed.
Relations with Kosovo will be the subject of a special meeting of the Serbian Parliament scheduled for Tuesday. It is possible that the discussion will continue on Wednesday. Aleksandar Vučić said that he would be present in the parliament during the entire session and would personally answer all the questions of the deputies. Many regional experts, however, regarded the holding of a special meeting of the Serbian Assembly as an attempt by the President of Serbia to share with the parliament the responsibility for making the coming “difficult decisions” on Kosovo.
