"Consistent support for the leadership of Serbia": what is the role of Russia in reducing the escalation in Kosovo

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic thanked Russia for political support during the next round of the conflict between Serbia and Kosovo with Metohija.

He told this to a TV Pink journalist before meeting with the residents of these territories.

“An infinite number of times I will thank Russia for the support it provides us,” TASS quoted the Serbian leader as saying.

At the same time, Vučić stressed that Belgrade is forced to negotiate on the de-escalation of the conflict with Western countries, that is, "with those who are on the side of the unrecognized Kosovo."

“We are talking to biased people.

These are people who do not comply with resolution 1244 (UN Security Council Resolution 1244 is a fundamental international legal document that provides for the dissolution of any Kosovo Albanian paramilitary forces and allows the presence of an exclusively international peacekeeping contingent on the territory of Kosovo.

), the people who bombed this country destroyed her.

And we are talking to them because their forces are in Kosovo and Metohija,” the Serbian leader stressed.

Earlier, Vucic called on Serbs to dismantle barricades in Kosovo and go home after the US and EU provided security guarantees to Serbian residents participating in protests against the actions of the leadership of the partially recognized Kosovo, infringing on their rights. 

On December 28, Vučić announced on his Instagram* that peace in Kosovo and Metohija had been maintained, and the next day, December 29, he ordered the state of high alert of the country's armed forces to be lifted.

Moscow has repeatedly expressed support for the Serbian leadership on the Kosovo issue.

So, on December 12, the Russian Foreign Ministry published the answer of the official representative of the department, Maria Zakharova, to a media question in connection with the aggravation of the situation in Kosovo.

In a conversation with journalists, Zakharova stressed that Russia would continue to help Serbia defend its legitimate interests in the Kosovo issue.

“We will continue to help Belgrade defend the legitimate national interests in relation to Kosovo based on Security Council Resolution 1244, which remains in effect without any exceptions and provides a real chance to work out a balanced, fair solution to the Kosovo problem in accordance with international law,” she said. Zakharov.

According to the Russian diplomat, Pristina "with the connivance of the United States and the European Union" has taken a course towards tougher repressions against the Serbs in Kosovo using "direct ethnically motivated violence."

Later, on December 21, the International Affairs magazine published an article by Russian Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, in which he confirmed Moscow's intention to assist Belgrade in defending its legal rights in the situation around the self-proclaimed Kosovo.

• Barricades in Kosovo set up by local Serbs

• Gettyimages.ru

• © Vudi Xhymshiti

“Serbia knows that they can always rely on Russia… We will continue to closely coordinate with Belgrade in protecting the legitimate rights of Serbia in relation to the province of Kosovo and Metohija.

Our main tool is the considerable potential of Russia as a permanent member of the UN Security Council (of course, on the understanding that the initiative will belong to Belgrade)," the Russian ambassador said.

The position of the Russian Federation, which is on the side of Serbia in the situation around the self-proclaimed Kosovo, was also announced on December 28 by the press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov.

“We support Belgrade in the actions that are being taken ... Serbia defends the rights of the Serbs who live nearby in such difficult conditions.

And of course, it reacts harshly when these rights are violated, ”said the Kremlin spokesman.

Another round of escalation

Recall that the situation in Kosovo and Metohija escalated sharply in early December, when Kosovo special forces seized the buildings of election commissions in the north of the autonomous region, and also blocked the northern part of the city of Kosovska Mitrovica.

The Kosovo police later arrested one of their former colleagues, who decided to resign in November in protest against Pristina's actions.

Kosovo law enforcement officials said they suspect the detainee of terrorism.

However, under public pressure, on December 28, the former policeman was released from custody and placed under house arrest. 

It is worth noting that the security forces of Kosovo do not have the right to enter the northern territories of the region without the permission of the heads of four Serbian municipalities, as evidenced by the agreements reached in 2013.

In response to the illegal actions of Pristina, the Serbian population blocked the roads in several settlements with barricades.

In turn, the Kosovo police blocked the crossing of the Jarine checkpoint for cars and pedestrians from Central Serbia.

In addition, the authorities of the self-proclaimed Kosovo put their security forces on full alert.

After that, Vucic, in a statement circulated on his social networks, promised to protect the Serbs.

Later, Belgrade brought all units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to the highest degree of combat readiness.

Against the backdrop of the aggravation of the situation, the Serbian president announced on the air of the national television RTS that he intends to send a request to NATO for the entry of a Serbian police and army contingent into Kosovo in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1244.

At the same time, Vucic admitted that this issue could be brought up for discussion in the UN Security Council itself.

"Allows you to maintain a tough stance"

As Vladimir Putyatin, Associate Professor of the Department of the History of the Southern and Western Slavs of the Faculty of History of Moscow State University, noted, at present we are talking about a “calm” in the situation around the Kosovo issue.

According to him, this was largely made possible thanks to the support of the Serbian authorities from Russia.

“It is difficult to talk about the onset of a comprehensive peace in the region, which continues to be a point of tension in the Balkans.

The Kosovo problem is still extremely acute.

But the situation would have been much less positive for the Serbs if Russia had not supported them in this process.

Moscow really consistently provides all kinds of diplomatic and political support to the leadership of Serbia on the issue of Kosovo and Metohija, ”the expert said in a conversation with RT.

According to Putyatin, such assistance from Moscow is a determining factor in which Belgrade has the opportunity to resist the West, which wants to persuade the Serbian authorities to recognize Kosovo.

“The United States and the European Union are pushing Serbia in every possible way to declare the Kosovo territories an independent state.

At the same time, the support of the Russian Federation has allowed and allows the current Serbian authorities to maintain their tough position, to defend it, including during various negotiations, in particular in Brussels or in the United States.

The West is constantly raising the issue of recognizing Kosovo, but thanks to Moscow's unconditional position, Belgrade manages to fight for its territories, protecting the rights of Serbs in the region, ”the analyst said.

• Kosovo Serb protest against Pristina's actions

• Gettyimages.ru

• © Erkin Keci

Stevan Gajic, a research fellow at the Institute for European Studies in Belgrade, also draws attention to Moscow's leading role in Serbia's confrontation with the West on the Kosovo issue.

According to him, if it were not for the support of the Russian authorities, the Serbian leadership would not have been able to counteract the attempts of Western forces "to reduce everything to declaring Kosovo an independent state."

“The role of Moscow is extremely important: if Serbia had not had this support, Belgrade would have lost its current negotiating positions long ago,” the Serbian analyst believes.

“The option of recognizing the Kosovo territories as independent would also be quite possible, since then the Serbian leadership would not have a strong and influential ally.

But Moscow has fundamentally adhered to the position of defending international law all this time - and hence the sovereignty of Serbia throughout its territory, including Kosovo and Metohija, ”Gajic said in a comment to RT.

At the same time, he stressed that this month, the Serbian authorities, with the support of Moscow, proved by their actions that they intend to fight for Kosovo to the end.

“According to the latest statements of Vucic and the steps of Belgrade, it was clearly visible that the Serbian authorities are not bluffing when they say that they are ready to send their army into Kosovo if a pogrom and more active oppression of ethnic Serbs begin there.

At the same time, the Kosovo leadership, in fact, threatened Belgrade to disperse the Serbs by force - Pristina demonstrated this intention by the actions of its special forces, ”the expert said.

At the same time, analysts agree that in the future, a new aggravation of the situation in the region will follow due to the illegal steps of the Kosovo side, which often acts "on the instructions of the West."

“On the part of Pristina, we do not see real steps to de-escalate this conflict, eliminate its causes.

Society in Kosovo and Metohija is still divided along national lines, and this confrontation has not disappeared anywhere.

Therefore, in recent years, we have been witnessing a permanent escalation of the tension of the situation on the part of Pristina.

It would be naive to believe that the Kosovo leadership will suddenly change course diametrically and begin to strive to maintain stability in the region, ”Putyatin concluded.

* Meta product, activity recognized as extremist, prohibited on the territory of Russia by decision of the Tverskoy Court of Moscow dated 03/21/2022.