Kosovo - Russia Relations
Russia is trying to destabilize regions to create geopolitical advantages. Serbia is Putins trojan horse in Europe. Moscow's game-plan in Kosovo is to first creating a crisis, and then call on "both sides to refrain from violence", resulting in the "creeping" implementation of their strategic goals.Former US Ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker said 01 June 2023 that although Russia had not directly intervened, their long term policies have added to the tensions and clashes in Kosovo.
Goran Petronijevic, a high-profile defense attorney and international affairs observer, suggested that Russia's recent successes against NATO in Ukraine had pushed the forces of "neoliberal globalism" to look to "create a new hot spot."
The direct origins of the present crisis can be traced back to the Kosovo War of 1998-1999, in which what Moscow saw as the CIA-trained and equipped militant force known as the "Kosovo Liberation Army" began a guerrilla conflict with Serbian police and the military with the aim of achieving independence. NATO intervened in the crisis in March of 1999 in a 78-day bombing campaign of the rump state of Yugoslavia. The conflict culminated in the ouster of Serbian security forces, and the creation of a massive NATO military garrison at Camp Bondsteel – the largest US military base in the Balkans.
Russian Foreign Minister Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that the crisis in Kosovo could escalate into a "huge explosion in the heart of Europe," the same place "where NATO carried out aggression against Yugoslavia in 1999." Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called for decisive steps to be taken to "deescalate" tensions, and "not half-measures like the idea of the Americans to temporarily 'resettle' the new 'mayors' away from municipal buildings to other facilities."
The spokeswoman called on the US and its allies to stop blaming Serbs for the violence, and urged Washington not to provoke Belgrade, "which was forced to declare full combat readiness of the armed forces" and send them to the border. Zakharova characterized the KFOR’s presence in the Serbian province an additional "escalation factor," slamming the force for their "unprofessionalism".
As ethnic trouble brewed and the latest confrontations erupted in northern Kosovo, a powerful symbol of Russian expansionism emerged alongside the Serbian flags denoting resistance to Pristina's authority. Images of the "Z," which was used by Russian forces invading Ukraine, painted or otherwise scrawled on Kosovo police and NATO peacekeepers' vehicles. Some even caught a group of masked men in the act of spray-painting it on the armored blue trucks of Kosovar special police units in Zvecan, the scene of the worst violence on May 29.
Western analysts said it could imbue minority Serbs with the "optics of identifying with a larger power" to boost their collective confidence, undermine the legitimacy of the Serbia-Kosovo dispute while "supporting aggressive actions" to resist Kosovar authority, and undermine Serbian willingness to cooperate with perceived Kosovo allies in the West.
Serb residents in the municipalities of Leposavic, Mitrovica, Zubin Potok and Zvecan gathered outside local municipal buildings to block ethnic Albanian mayors appointed by the US-backed government in Pristina from entering. The mayors were appointed to their posts after local elections in April, which the vast majority of local Serbs (over 95 percent) boycotted in protest of Pristina's crackdown on autonomy promised in a 2013 EU-brokered agreement but never delivered on.
NATO and the embassies of the so-called Quint countries – the US, France, Germany, Italy and the UK paid lip service to Belgrade's concerns, calling on Pristina to lower tensions and halt attempts to access municipal buildings in Serb-majority municipalities by force.
Belgrade responded to the crisis by putting the military on high alert, and deploying troops to the administrative border with Kosovo, with President Aleksandar Vucic holding a televised national address in which he blamed Albin Kurti for the violence, and accused Pristina of deliberately fueling unrest to try to cause a direct clash between Belgrade and NATO.
There were very strange Serbian protesters. Almost all of them are men of large physical build. As if from a sports fight club or former riot police. It is safe to say that these are coordinated and paid protests. The police used the old fashioned setup with shields where the officers are passive targets and cannot use their hands. It created a front zone that looks very dramatic in the media - and that is exactly what the attackers want to achieve. An unstable Serbian situation in Kosovo would mean the Kremlin would have a diversion in eastern europe and another drain on NATO logistics, let alone the prospect of military action in yet another peacekeeping role.
France's President Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz on 01 June 2023 urged Kosovo to allow new elections in four northern municipalities, amid renewed tensions with the area's Serbian population. , Kosovo's President Vjosa Osmani said she had told the European leaders that this would be possible under Kosovo law if the Serbian leadership in Belgrade did not encourage Serbs to boycott the poll.
Kosovo is mainly populated by ethnic Albanians, but the Serbs who make up around six percent of the population have remained largely loyal to Belgrade, especially in the north where they are a majority. Kosovo's ethnic Serb minority boycotted April local elections in the north, allowing ethnic Albanians to take control of local councils despite a turnout of less than 3.5 percent. Many Serbs demanded the withdrawal of both the mayors and Kosovo's police -- causing an increase in tensions that has led to violence both between the sides and against Kosovo's NATO-led peacekeepers.
Serbia will continue to pursue close security cooperation with Russia in order to protect Serbia's own national interests, in particular amid increasingly aggressive rhetoric from Kosovo Albanian politicians, Serbian Minister of Internal Affairs Nebojsa Stefanovic stated 30 May 2017. Stefanovic met with Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Russian Federation Security Council. The politicians signed a bilateral agreement on greater cooperation between Serbia's Minister of Internal Affairs and the Russian Federal Security Service [FSB]. Stefanovic explained that the agreement will provide Serbian security forces with the invaluable expertise of Russia's security specialists.
Stefanovic said "We have very close cooperation with Russia not only in the field of security, but also in all other areas. In addition, there is the traditional, historical and cooperation that helps Serbia on various fronts. Here I am thinking about the policies I discussed with Patrushev, the cooperation to protect Serbian national interests above all in Kosovo, where Russia supports Serbia very strongly for which we are very grateful."
Russia's policy on Kosovo has been consistent and generally aligned with Serbia's position on the issue. Here are some key aspects of Russia's policy. Russia does not recognize Kosovo as an independent state. It maintains that Kosovo's declaration of independence in 2008 was a violation of international law and the principles of state sovereignty and territorial integrity. Russia's stance is based on concerns that recognizing Kosovo's independence could set a precedent for other separatist movements around the world.
Russia supports Serbia's claim to sovereignty over Kosovo and emphasizes the need for a negotiated solution in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244, which reaffirms Serbia's territorial integrity. Russia argues that any resolution of the Kosovo issue should be agreed upon through negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina.
As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, Russia holds veto power over any resolutions related to Kosovo. It has used its veto to block initiatives that would have granted Kosovo membership in international organizations or further recognition of its independence without Serbia's consent. Russia has provided political and diplomatic support to Serbia in its efforts to maintain control over Kosovo. It has advocated for dialogue and negotiation between Belgrade and Pristina to find a mutually acceptable solution. Russia has also expressed concerns about the presence of international missions and forces in Kosovo, such as the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR).
Russia maintains close political, economic, and military ties with Serbia. The two countries have engaged in various forms of cooperation, including energy projects, trade, cultural exchanges, and defense cooperation. Russia has provided economic and political support to Serbia, particularly regarding its position on Kosovo.
Russia does not recognize the independence of Serbia’s former province. From the Russian perspective, the former Yugoslavia and Serbia in particular had been something akin to a geopolitical laboratory since the first invasion of Yugoslavia by the US and NATO. Yugoslavia served as the first blueprint for the “humanitarian” based US/NATO tactic of aggressive invasion. A blueprint that had since gone on to be used in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and other countries. Serbia was the first such invasion and as the guinea pig for everything since from massively covered up genocide (Srebrenica), to the taking away of sovereign territory (Kosovo). If the West was about to obtain complete and total victory in Serbia, the only hope for many of the Serbian people was Russia.
The issue of Kosovo's independence must be resolved only within the framework of the UN principles, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after meeting with his Serbian counterpart Tomislav Nikolic on 11 September 2012. “It is necessary to look for the solution to the problem in the course of negotiations, based primarily on the UN Security Council Resolution 1244,” Putin said at a joint news conference with Nikolic.
The president of Kosovo accused Russia of provoking fresh tensions in the region. Hashim Thac said 29 January 2017 "Serbia is adopting the style and methods Russia used in Ukraine. There are Russians there who cooperate closely with Belgrade. They are in the process of preparing paramilitary units. They don't have uniforms yet, but they're armed with modern handguns. That is being controlled directly by the authorities in Belgrade. I have already conveyed my concern to the EU. The silence coming out of Brussels is alarming. Similar things happened in the 1990s in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo. We saw what the consequences were. That's why the EU must remember Belgrade's previous patterns of behavior, which are no different from those of today."
Russia supports Serbia in its talks on the Kosovo issue and hopes they will result in a viable and mutually acceptable solution based on the UN Resolution 1244, President Vladimir Putin stated after meeting with his Serbian counterpart Tomislav Nikolic in the Black Sea city of Sochi 24 May 2013. “We support our Serbian friends who are now leading difficult and challenging EU-mediated talks on Kosovo in Brussels” Putin said, adding that Russia will help Serbia to fund its branch of the South Stream gas pipeline transporting Russian gas to Europe. Russia will allocate some 1.7 bln euros to the construction which is scheduled for the end for the year.
Russia hopes that the talks between Belgrade and Pristina with the mediation of the EU will lead to improving the situation of Serbs in Kosovo. This was stated by Russia’s UN envoy Vitaly Churkin at a meeting of the Security Council on Kosovo settlement 15 June 2013. "We hope that the results achieved in the course of the ongoing EU-mediated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina will lead to a real improvement of the situation with the Serb population of Kosovo. We support the efforts of Serbia in this difficult process. Its demands for guarantees of a normal life for the Serb minority in the region are fully justified, "- he said.
Kosovo cannot be viewed as a state viable to become a member of the UN cultural agency (UNESCO) as it does not possess fully-fledged juridical personality, the Russian Foreign Ministry said 09 November 2015. Kosovo managed earlier on Monday to garner 92 votes in favor of its accession to UNESCO, just a few votes short of the needed two-thirds majority. A total of 142 delegations voted, while another 29 abstained. "Kosovo, still being under transitional UN administration (UNMIK), cannot be viewed as a state possessing juridical personality and, therefore, it cannot strive for a membership in an international organization," the Russian ministry said in a statement.
Russia is in touch with Belgrade over the escalation of situation between Serbia and Kosovo, Russian Foreign Ministry's Fourth European Department Director Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko said 08 February 2017. "Of course, we are in touch all the time. Interaction with Belgrade is also intensive in issues related to countering attempts to push Kosovo into international organizations," Botsan-Kharchenko said. Botsan-Kharchenko added that the Belgrade plays the main role in the diplomatic efforts while Russia was assisting.
During their meeting in Belgrade on 21 February 2017, the head of the Serbian Government Office for Kosovo Marko Djuric and Russia’s ambassador to Serbia Alexander Chepurin spoke about preparations for the next regular meeting of the UN Security Council on Kosovo and Metohija, as well as on joint action to prevent Kosovo’s membership in international organizations. This meant that the chances of Russia recognizing self-proclaimed Kosovo are virtually nil.
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