anytime difficult relationships come in Kosovo Y Serbian they returned moody Due to the protests of dozens of people in recent days Kosovo Serbs In northern Kosovo, following the arrest of a former Kosovo Serb police officer, some clashed with the Kosovo police and set up barricades against the government of Pristina, escalating tensions in the region, the consequences of which are still difficult to predict. tormented by the consequences of the wars it causes Dissolution of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
What caused the recent conflict between Belgrade and Pristina?
this tensions of the belgrade and Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, dates back to the wars that Kosovo incited. fragmentation of the Yugoslavia reached its peak in this region in the 1990s. 1998-1999 war. This conflict finally ended with the bombing of the Serbian capital by NATO, which intervened on behalf of the Kosovo Albanian majority. After this section, kosovo leaders declaration unilaterally the Kosovo’s independence from Serbia in 2008, but many countries around the world (including Spain) and Belgrade never recognized the legitimacy of the declaration. Since then, what has it kept inside? razor blade the Kosovo-Serbia relations and contributed to preventing both countries from entering the European Union.
In this context, in the past year new climb by decision unspoilt require that all vehicles circulating in the country have a license plate Kosovo, something that nearly 50,000 Kosovo Serbs reject. Kosovo’s claim is that Belgrade also does not recognize the documents published by them, so this would be a decision motivated by Kosovo. reciprocity principle.
Yet, weeks ago, EU High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrellannounced that Pristina has finally accepted the EU’s request to suspend its plans to impose penalties on vehicles with Serbian license plates, and Belgrade has promised that it will no longer provide these documents. However, the Kosovo authorities’ announcement that they want to hold local elections in the Serb-majority municipalities as soon as possible brought the crisis to light once again. So, in the last few hours, unspoilt announced that these elections will be postponed, although the effects of this announcement are still unclear.
Is nationalism returning in Kosovo and Serbia?
the truth is that radical nationalism He never completely left either country. Like him Serbian President Aleksandar Vucicaspect Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti They are clearly nationalists. Kurti party leader Vetvendosje and openly argues that Kosovo may one day join Albania. He made this clear in an interview with the BBC last year and advocated a possibility in the future. popular referendum About the subject. “It is an injustice not to hold this referendum,” Kurti said. Serving as Minister of Information in Milosevic’s government, Serbian Vučić won the election again last April, defeating the pro-European and centrist United for Victory of Serbia coalition.
Who are the Kosovo Serbs?
is he second ethnolinguistic group existing in Kosovo behind majority Kosovo Albanian (90%). This is a minority whose population has dwindled since the war in the 1990s and lives in segregated settlements from the rest of the population. Its ties with Serbia are also very strong because some of the most important Orthodox monasteries in the world are located in Kosovo, many of which are protected by international missions that exist to ensure peace in the country.
What is the role of Russia, NATO and the EU in the conflict?
In reality, historical relationship come in Serbian Y Russia It is much more complex today than it was years ago. On the one hand, Serbia has tried to get closer with European countries over the years (the country has been an official candidate for EU entry since 2009); On the other hand, the authorities of this country, war in ukraine. As the US institute the Council on Foreign Relations reminded days ago, belgrade He supported the UN resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but is not part of the bloc of countries imposing sanctions on Moscow, and Vučić even signed an energy deal with Russia in May (to buy 2.2 billion cubic meters of gas). the next three years). This helped fuel the rhetoric Kosovo Prime Minister Kurti that behind instability in the Balkanswould be Putin. Vučić, however, does not appear to be Russia’s usual ally, and this is because many Serbian nationalists have a pessimistic view that Moscow justified their annexation by citing the Kosovo cause, as the Carnegie Institution explained in June. Another aspect is that since the invasion of Ukraine, the EU’s peacekeeping mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUFOR) has almost doubled its strength. And this coincided with calls from some advocates of NATO enlargement that the time was right for it. Kosovo enter this alliance.