"No surrender": Heads of state fuel escalation in Kosovo conflict with Serbia

Created: 2022-12-14 03:46

By: Mark Stoffers

Rhetoric in the possible Serbia-Kosovo conflict is increasingly poisoned - "terrorist scum" © Bojan Slavkovic

In addition to the current incidents in the Serbia-Kosovo conflict, rhetoric also plays a role.

The heads of state of the countries deliver an exchange of blows.

Munich – In the shadow of the Ukraine war, another place in the middle of Europe is seething.

Tempers are running high, the security situation is tense, even unstable.

Current developments in northern Kosovo are not only causing tension, but are threatening to escalate into a conflict between Serbia and Kosovo.

Road blockades and exchanges of fire with the local police could only have been the beginning.

Reports about a Serbian military convoy apparently headed for Kosovo also made headlines.

Kosovo conflict with Serbia: Nationalists stop local elections in northern Kosovo with help from Belgrade

But the spearhead in the threatening conflict between Serbia and Kosovo is probably still the Serbian nationalists.

With their actions and the apparent support from Belgrade, they wanted to prevent the democratic new elections in the predominantly ethnic Serb communities of Kosovo.

An undertaking which they could apparently succeed, even if only temporarily.

Because of the growing ethnic tensions in northern Kosovo, the local elections originally planned for December 18 and 25 in northern Kosovo will be postponed to April 23, 2023.

This was stated by President Vjosa Osmani last Saturday.

Their decision was based on consultations with the political parties and analyzes by the police and various secret services.

Cause of the renewed tensions in the Kosovo conflict with Serbia

But it is precisely this circumstance that is actually only the trigger and less the cause of the renewed tensions between Kosovo and Serbia.

Finally, the new elections are necessary because local elections were necessary in four municipalities in northern Kosovo because the Serbian mayors and municipal representatives there had resigned from their offices.

In doing so, they had protested against the now suspended license plate regulation of the government in Pristina.

With the license plate regulation, Pristina wanted to ensure that ethnic Serbs from Kosovo stop registering their vehicles with Serbian authorities and instead apply for Kosovar license plates.

Serbia-Kosovo conflict: Serbian President Vucic fuels tensions

But there is another player at the center of this powder keg: Serbia's president from the neighboring country.

Aleksandar Vucic is fueling a possible escalation of the Serbia-Kosovo conflict through both his demands and his rhetoric.

Among other things, the head of state insists on sending his own troops to Kosovo.

He has already announced, citing UN Resolution 1244, that he will apply to the KFOR (Kosovo Protection Force) for the relocation of up to 1,000 soldiers and police officers.

However, he does not expect this to be approved, he continued.

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What is UN Resolution 1244?

The resolution was passed on June 10, 1999.

After the withdrawal of all "military, police and paramilitary forces from Kosovo", "an agreed number of (Yugoslav) and Serbian military and police personnel" may return to the region.

However, NATO must decide when troops might return.

According to the resolution, it is about “marking and clearing minefields” and “maintaining a presence at Serbian cultural heritage sites”.

It is also said that not thousands, but only hundreds of soldiers should be sent.

Given the current tensions and the desire to send soldiers to Kosovo, Serbia invokes the resolution.

Since Kosovo's declaration of independence in 2008, however, there has been debate as to whether the resolution is still valid in view of the new political reality.

Doubts are likely to arise as to whether Serbia can invoke the resolution.

The Serbian ex-Foreign Minister Vladislav Jovanovic recently emphasized to the news portal

that there is no time limit for United Nations resolutions.

He also stated that Serbs in northern Kosovo were being forced to block roads to protect themselves from Kosovan security forces.

An example of this is the arrest of an ethnic Serb.

The former police officer, who is said to have quit his job in the course of the car license plate dispute between Kosovo and Serbia, is accused of attacks on a polling station: terrorism.

Kosovo conflict with Serbia: border crossings closed due to road blockades

In response, two border crossings towards Serbia were closed due to roadblocks.

"Extremist groups" had set up barricades in the towns of Leposavic, Zvecan and Zubin Potok, was the reaction of Kosovo's Interior Minister Xhlelal Zvecla on Facebook.

Meanwhile, Vucic's point of view is clear.

The message from Serbia's president in the Kosovo conflict is: "There is no surrender and there will be no surrender."

Rhetoric in the possible Serbia-Kosovo conflict is increasingly poisoned - "terrorist scum"

By no means a harmless statement, but in the course of the poisoned rhetoric of the past few days and weeks it could almost be interpreted as tame.

While the head of the Kosovo chancellery of the Serbian government, Petar Petković, speaks of the plan of the Kosovan "quasi-prime minister" Albin Kurti to "ethnically cleanse" Kosovo of Serbs", Serbia's president called his counterpart "terrorist scum".

Even in the newspapers, one could already believe from many formulations that Serbia is not only preparing for a conflict with Kosovo, but is already in the thick of it.

Serbian armed forces are on increased readiness, as can be read there, as well as decision-makers who promise the Serbs in Kosovo that they will save "their state" from "annihilation".

Kosovo's Prime Minister does not mince his words in the conflict with Serbia.

Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti is also not inferior to his opponents when it comes to verbal attacks.

He is particularly targeting the Serbian head of state.

This is "leader of criminal gangs" and "Vladimir Putin's man in the Balkans".

At the same time, Serbia is the only country in Europe that boasts of its "brotherly" relationship with Moscow, but in the same breath rejects sanctions against Russia.

Prime Minister Kurti reacted to the renewed provocations in northern Kosovo with the words: “Serbia has been threatening Kosovo with aggression for a few days.

The President and Prime Minister of Serbia demand the return of the Serbian army to Kosovo,” he wrote on Facebook.

“We don't want conflict, we want peace and progress.

But we will respond to aggression with all the power we have," Kurti added.

Serbia-Kosovo Conflict: International Countries Like France "Very Concerned"

Forgiving tones certainly sound different in the ears of countries like the USA, Great Britain or Italy.

France is also "very worried" about the situation in Kosovo.

Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also got involved in the explosive situation in Kosovo, but was described as a "hypocrite" and promptly accused of sabotage by Russia.

While the nations are trying to bring their opponents to the negotiating table, the contingent leader of the around 70 Bundeswehr soldiers on the KFOR mission on site, Colonel Frank, knows how precarious the situation is developing.

Because the situation can get out of control at any time: Frank tells

that there is a "permanent danger of the security situation deteriorating in a very short time".