Kosova

Joseph: The US is creating a crisis in Kosovo

Joseph: The US is creating a crisis in Kosovo

The former deputy head of the OSCE mission in Kosovo, Edward Joseph, has stated that the US is creating a crisis in Kosovo.

In an opinion published in "Foreign Policy", Joseph states that the American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, should decide if "it is worth this regional disorder and damage to the reputation of the USA, to please a Serbian autocrat".

"Blinken should end his tour in Brussels, with Borrell and the EU's special representative for the region, Miroslav Lajcak. Blinken should remind the diplomats that the agreement between Serbia and Kosovo bears the name of the EU. Brussels can no longer hide behind the line that it is merely facilitating. The US and the EU, instead of a "constructive ambiguity", should focus on clarity. It is urgent, it is an iron sequence of steps that Kosovo and Serbia must take to implement the agreement, and do it quickly within this year", wrote Joseph. "In this way, Blinken will remove the USA and the EU from confusion and crisis, sending a signal to Moscow about the determination to consolidate the Balkans in the West, supporting Ukraine".

Joseph goes on to write that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky can best understand this impasse between the US and Kosovo.

"Ask the Ukrainian president to give autonomy to ethnic Russians, and he will immediately ask these three questions: Will Russian speakers accept that they live in Ukraine, not Russia?" Will Russia recognize the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine? And if this autonomy is offered, will Ukraine finally be accepted into NATO?" - wrote Joseph.

"Frustrated with the prime minister of Kosovo who has not offered his conditions for the establishment of the Association, and angry with his latest, reckless police operation in the Serb-dominated north of Kosovo, the Biden administration has already punished Kosovo and is ready to cause him more pain," Joseph wrote.

Sipas Joseph Washingtoni dhe Brukseli ndajnë fajin për krizën, duke përfshirë këtu edhe dhunën e ushtruar nga serbët kundrejt paqeruajtësve të NATO-s.

“Absurditeti i sanksionimit të një aleati demokratik në Prishtinë, e në anën tjetër përshëndetja e një autokrati manipulues e pro-rus, të cilin ambasadori amerikan në Serbi, Christopher Hill e quajti ‘partner më të mirë të SHBA-së’, duhet ta bëjë Blinkeni të pushojë pak. Në vend që ta lejojë frustrimin që ta drejtojë politikën e tij karshi Kosovës, apo që ta lejojë iluzionin ta drejtojë politikën e tij karshi Serbisë, Blinkeni duhet të rishqyrtojë urgjentisht qasjen e administratës së tij”, ka vlerësuar Joseph.

"Claims that the US has a partner in Belgrade and an enemy in Pristina will neither ease the current stalemate in the north nor lead to stability. Despite his frenetic global agenda, Blinken must personally exercise control over US policy in the Balkans. First, the Biden administration should discipline the ambassadors in the region. The divisions between the US embassies in Belgrade and Pristina have attracted the attention of the main partners in the EU and have also undermined Blinken's authority," said Joseph.