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By:
Daniel Server
- August 23, 2022 20:52
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President Vucic lashed out during an interview with the BBC yesterday morning, denying using the obviously inflammatory language he had just used (and has used repeatedly). He seemed nervous and desperate to claim the persecution of Kosovo Serbs.
He also threatened military intervention to protect them. Unfortunately, I can't find the interview on the Newshour site. Let me know if you find it.
Kosovo Foreign Minister Gërvalla-Schwarz responded, focusing on mutual recognition and the threat of Russian intervention after Moscow's (presumed) defeat in Ukraine.
No, a deal doesn't seem imminent, but it's not impossible
I am often asked if a "final" deal is close. It sure doesn't seem like it. Vuçiqi has returned to Milosevic-style claims of Serb victimization and focuses on the agreed (but not implemented) Association of Serb-majority Municipalities. Gërvalla-Schwarz will not settle for anything less than progress towards mutual recognition. In the specific case of license plates, this would mean a strictly reciprocal solution.
also
Vuçiqi complains that Kosovo is not accepting a compromise on license plates
Actually, it's not about license plates. It is about sovereignty. Kosovo is insisting on reciprocity, because this is the rule between two sovereign states.
Serbia rejects reciprocity, as it is a rule between two sovereign states. The circle can, I think, be turned into a square.
The association that Vuçiqi wants will look different in the context of mutual recognition. The Constitutional Court of Kosovo has already made it clear that it cannot have executive functions. The association could ultimately be useful to calm the northern municipalities of Kosovo. Without executive functions and with recognition, it is not a possible threat to Kosovo's sovereignty.
You can't go there from here
The problem is that the path to this solution is not clear. Neither Vuçiqi nor Kurti have anything to gain in domestic politics from such a solution. Neither feels they have to surrender to gain international advantage. Serbia has returned to anocracy. Its Democrats are divided and weak. Its pro-Russian ethno-nationalists are strong. The media environment is less than free. Public discourse too often focuses on the 'Serbian world', a remake of Greater Serbia of the 1990s, recycled through Putin's 'Russian world'. The Serbian world threatens the territorial integrity not only of Kosovo, but also of Bosnia and Montenegro. Belgrade talks about its ambitions for EU membership, but in practice it hedges its bets. It has strengthened relations with Russia and China even during the war in Ukraine. It has failed to align with many EU foreign policies, including sanctions against Russia. Progress towards EU membership has slowed to a crawl.
Kosovo is a vibrant democracy, with free media and strong political competition. The electorate is impatient for an agreement with Serbia. Kosovars hope this will force the EU to fulfill its visa waiver commitments, encourage the five EU states that have not yet recognized Kosovo to do so, and enable faster progress towards NATO- s and the EU. However, Prime Minister Kurti has great local support for insisting on reciprocity, which many Kosovars see as a 'sine qua non'. He lacks international options. Neither Russia nor China are interested in making friends with Kosovo. Kosovo enthusiastically moves necessarily with NATO and the EU, which mercilessly put pressure on Kurti.
If you all have lemons, then make lemonade
At the moment, a 'final deal' does not seem imminent. But temporary ones should be possible. Serbia's problem with Kosovo's license plates is an 'R', for 'republic'. Belgrade does not want to accept license plates displaying that symbol of sovereignty and the documents that come with it for travel to Serbia. Kosovars have spent ten years covering R and obtaining alternative documentation for the sake of not offending Serbian sensibilities. At the same time, Belgrade wants Serbs in Kosovo to be able to keep their Serbian license plates and drive wherever they want with them. If there really was a risk of violence against Serbs in Kosovo, Vučić would not encourage them to carry Serbian license plates. Reciprocity for Serbs driving in Kosovo with Serbian license plates would mean that Albanians living in the south of Serbia could drive with Kosovo license plates wherever they want within Serbia. How would this go in Belgrade?
also
On the eve of the resumption of dialogue, Serbia is intensifying its campaign against Kosovo
It is time for Vucic to admit that this storm of license plates is unworthy of an EU aspirant. When living in Kosovo, Serbs should do as Kosovars do. Ride with an R on their license plates. This means they accept Pristina's governing authority in the north, which Serbia already did in a 2013 'political' agreement with Pristina. It's not that hard.
*The review is published on the site Peacefare.net
