European Parliament rapporteur on Kosovo, Viola von Cramon: “Russia has no interest in resolving the conflict between Serbia and Kosovo and acts accordingly”

He has just returned from Serbia, where accusations of corruption in the last parliamentary elections won by Aleksandar Vučić’s party have continued. is Serbia Is there democracy today?

The answer to this question is no. We are far from a democratic country, even far from a country that can be considered a candidate with a high chance of joining the European Union (EU) in the near future. EU values ​​are not defended. On the contrary, democratic standards in the country are deteriorating.

Von Cramon here immediately jumps on the Serbian pro-European opposition, accusing European leaders of being, in his opinion, “too permissive, too tolerant” towards the Vučić Government. Therefore, according to policy, the way to do this is to “better explain to the Serbs that we want them in the EU, they are very welcome, but it is the (current) Serbian Government that is preventing this from happening”. Serbia “needs to decide whether it wants free and fair elections, which is clearly something that did not happen on December 17,” he says.

Do you think these elections should be repeated?

While I believe we should ask this, it’s not my place to say it. […] International observers are investigating the extent of fraud and corruption. Then it will be Serbian justice that will decide.

AND Kosovo?

[El conflicto con] Kosovo is very useful for Belgrade to distract public attention, and Vučić does this with great professionalism. Moreover, the biggest gift to Vučić was Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti. [Kurti] He is as polarizing as Vučić. Very nationalist and also very populist. They do each other favors when it comes to dialogue. […] If they had the will they could have seized the opportunity to sign an agreement [para normalizar las relaciones entre los dos países]. They didn’t. Vučić did not want to sign the agreement and it was very easy for Kosovo to blame Serbia for this. However, I think time is now on Serbia’s side, especially considering that it is possible for more right-wing parties to take part in the European Parliament after the June elections. [Donald] Trump could win the US elections, which would not benefit Kosovo.

Trump, why?

[A Trump] He is not interested in any political agreement. So I would like them to use this window that Belgrade and Pristina have. [en este año]. European institutions were willing to give a lot to Kosovo but were asked to solve the problem of the Union of Municipalities [para la minoría serbia en Kosovo]. And this is not recognized by the majority of politicians in Kosovo.

What do you think about the decision? United States of America Will Javelin missiles be sent to Kosovo?

If we look at what happened in September [un ataque armado en el norte de Kosovo, con muertos y heridos]There are clear signs that on the Serbian side the paramilitaries were not trained, perhaps with the help of the official military, but they allowed it to happen. So I think the US wants to send a signal against this. We have a responsibility. So much so that we are increasing our soldiers together. [de la misión de la Otan] Kfor. We must ensure strong protection of Kosovo.

Is there still a danger of a new armed conflict?

Oh, we don’t know. It is unclear at this point how involved the Serbian state is. [en ese ataque]but I heard from different sources, all Serbian and all assured me that if he had not been there nothing would have happened. [el Gobierno de] Vučić knew. However, it is also true that the Kosovo side’s policy towards Kosovo Serbs is not very smart at the moment.

What does this correspond to?

Discrimination against Kosovo Serbs has increased, and anti-Serb rhetoric by Kosovo authorities has also increased. Everything scales. It’s sad to see the government [el de Kosovo]Yes, it is not corruption but when you talk about all the ethnic minorities in Kosovo they are not doing a good job.

Could there be more events?

If there is, it will be thanks to paramilitary forces from Serbia. But what is also worrying is that more than 4,000 Serbs have left the country since October. This means that within three months many people decided they no longer wanted to live there. I talked to many people [serbias] In Kosovo and the reality is that Kosovo Serbs feel increasingly discriminated against. This should make us think.

¿Russia Does he really have a role in all this?

Russia has no interest in solving the problem [del conflicto entre Serbia y Kosovo]. He does not want Serbia to sign any agreement and acts accordingly.