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The Kosovo government navigates between nationalism and US expectations

2024-10-06 20:05:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Albin Kurti, Kosovo has taken steps that some experts say defy traditional diplomatic norms.

In the words of Daniel Serweri, professor at Johns Hopkins University, "Americans are not used to a Prime Minister of Kosovo who behaves like the Prime Minister of a sovereign state".

"They think he should be consulted on everything. In fact, Kosovo's prime ministers are used to following many instructions from Washington. And, to tell the truth, Kurti's behavior is not well accepted by them", says Serwer for Radio Free Europe's Expose program. Charles Kupchan, a professor at Georgetown University, says Kurti is putting domestic political interests ahead of national interests.

"Standing up against Washington, showing muscle and showing some autonomy seems to help Kurt gain popularity. I see this as a short-sighted game. It may be politically useful in the short term, but it is dangerous in the long term," says Kupchan.

Kurti, especially in the last two years of government, has had the extension of control in areas with a Serbian majority in the north of Kosovo an important part of his policy.

Among other things, it has replaced Serbian license plates with Kosovo license plates, installed Albanian mayors in municipalities with a Serbian majority and removed the Serbian dinar from use.

For the USA - which demands that all issues related to the situation in the north be addressed within the dialogue for the normalization of relations with Serbia - all these steps have been unilateral and uncoordinated and have influenced, according to her, in the partnership between the two countries.

Kurti's latest action that has angered Washington has been the closure of several parallel Serbian institutions in the north - on August 30 - from where the local community has received various services for years.

The American Embassy in Pristina issued one of the harshest criticisms of the Kosovo government at that time.

"The United States and our international partners have constantly asked the Government of Kosovo to prioritize coordination with the international community and not to take unilateral actions on the issues that are on the agenda of the dialogue facilitated by the EU. The failure of the Government of Kosovo to respond to these demands represents a real and growing deterioration of our partnership", it was said in response.

Last week, there were reports that the United States suspended cooperation with the Kosovo Police, specifically in the field of training, as a punitive measure.

Contacted by Radio Free Europe, the American Embassy has confirmed that it is considering the continuation of Kosovo Police training, but, currently, there is no decision.

Those days, Kurti was on a visit to the USA, where, among others, he met the assistant of the US Secretary of State, James O'Brien, and the US envoy for the Western Balkans, Alexander Kasanof, but he did not announce that what was discussed

Kurti constantly insists that the actions of his Government are not directed against anyone, that he follows the Constitution and laws of Kosovo and that relations with the USA are good, despite disagreements on some issues.

Kupchan strongly disagrees. He says that the relations of the USA with the Government of Kosovo are at the lowest level ever.

"Washington and Washington's partners in Europe do not feel comfortable with the more confrontational turn Prime Minister Kurti has taken when it comes to relations between Kosovo and Serbia. It has been a long period when Serbia was seen as a problem, when Serbia prevented the improvement of economic and political relations. But Kurt has changed that. Now we have more criticism directed at Pristina than at Belgrade", says Kupchan for Expose.

For him, this has an explanation: In Kosovo, on February 9, parliamentary elections will be held and Kurti is playing the nationalist card.

"Seeing in almost every other country in the world that nationalism works well, Kurti closes Serbian parallel institutions, installs Albanian mayors in Serbian-majority municipalities, changes the rules of identity cards or car license plates...".

"As a sovereign state, Kosovo has the full right to do these things, but I don't think they are smart steps, if the final goal is taken into account, which is the normalization of relations with Serbia and paving the way for the full integration of Kosovo into Atlantic institutions", says Kupchan. Kurti has not met with the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vu?i?, for more than a year. He also expressed skepticism about the calls made by Vucic to the northern Serbs to reintegrate into the institutions of Kosovo, after the mass departure in 2022, due to the decision on license plates.

Serwer believes that the US will never withdraw its support for Kosovo as an independent state, but admits that US aid may change. He emphasizes the need for more diplomacy in addressing issues that, he says, may not meet US expectations.

"I think it's time to give priority to relations with the Americans, to see what can be done to ensure more support from them for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Kosovo. I wouldn't compromise on that at all, but I would say to Washington: well, what do you need? Tell us what you need and we'll see what we can do," says Serwer.

The United States has allocated over two billion dollars to Kosovo since 1998. Their support has been crucial to the NATO bombing campaign in the former Yugoslavia - which ended the war in Kosovo - and then on the way of Kosovo towards independence.

Washington was among the first to recognize Kosovo's citizenship in 2008. It has its own military troops in Kosovo, engaged in the NATO mission, KFOR, and Kosovo's leaders often repeat that the US is the partner the most important of Kosovo.

Radio Free Europe has asked the US Department of State how it assesses the current relations with the Government of Kosovo and, in response, they have asked him to take as a basis a statement by the spokesperson Matthew Miller from August, who said that Kosovo "it is jeopardizing the opportunities that Washington has helped to create."

According to analysts, the last thing Kosovo needs now is to find itself politically isolated, because "it is a small country, living in a dangerous region".

"Every small country needs alliances to survive and thrive. There is no doubt about it. How does Luxembourg survive? How does Belgium survive? How does the Netherlands survive? They survive because they are in a system of friends and allies that enables them to survive and thrive," says Serwer.

For Kupchan, the long-term success of Kosovo as a state lies in its ability to carefully navigate external relations, especially with powerful allies like the USA. Unilateral steps are a problem, according to him.

"It may happen that after the elections, Kurti - assuming he will be re-elected - will have a different approach, because the elections will be behind him and it will be easier for him to adopt a more cooperative and less confrontational position ", says Kupchan.

Despite the US-Government of Kosovo relations and the ups and downs between them, one thing is certain: they cannot dampen the enthusiasm of Kosovars for the leadership of the most powerful state in the world.

A survey published by the American analysis company, Gallup, in April, found that Kosovo has the highest rating for American leadership among the 134 countries and territories surveyed.

This, despite some punishments. In May of last year, Kosovo was excluded from the "Defender Europe '23" military exercises, because its Government did not listen to the advice of the USA for steps to reduce tensions in the north of the country.

Equally in troubled waters, for similar reasons, Kosovo is also with the EU, which has some punitive measures in force.

Whether the Government will find a way to become a reliable partner again, or whether it will continue to be guided by its own ambitions, remains to be seen, the analysts conclude./ Rel