Surroi: Kosovo and Serbia risk a new cold war between them

2024-12-04 18:17:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The well-known publicist from Kosovo, Veton Surroi, estimates that last week's attack in Kosovo constitutes a further escalation of tensions between Kosovo and Serbia. In an interview with the Voice of America, Mr. Surroi, currently an external adviser to the Government of Kosovo for the dialogue with Serbia, says that the non-implementation of the agreement mediated by the European Union proves the weakness of the mediators and that any future process will require international guarantees and handling security issues. Mr. Surroi told his colleague Garentina Kraja that he expects that the administration of President-elect Donald Trump will look at the Kosovo issue in a much broader context than now - that of Russia's war and the development of the Euro-Asian world.

Voice of America: Mr. Surroi, last week in Kosovo, the water supply channel from Lake Ujman was attacked, which was described as an attack on critical infrastructure. Prishtina accused Belgrade of being behind the attack, while Serbia denied responsibility. How do you explain this development and its impact on the dialogue process?

Veton Surroi: I think the most important thing from this explosion is the fact that it is analogous to the attacks carried out by Russia in Ukraine, that is, against critical infrastructure. In the case of Russia, weapons are used, drones, missiles are used. In the case of Kosovo, an explosive explosion was used. This is worrying. Of course, in the case of Kosovo, we are dealing with a terrorist act, in the case of Russia, we are dealing with an open war. But the impact of the explosion is a further escalation, worrisome and beyond the analysis of who is guilty, that this will be shown by the research, it is important today to be informed by the security structures of Serbia how much they knew about this action and if they have indications, or if they have clues to point you in another direction, let them tell you. This debt remains with the security structures of Serbia, due to the action they took in the case of Banjska and the paramilitary attack by Radoj?i?'s group. At that time, the security structures of Serbia had to show how much they knew about these actions. If they didn't know, why. If they knew, why didn't they prevent these actions, or did they help in these actions. These are complicated things related to security, but they are very necessary in order to create the foundations of mutual trust.

Voice of America: You mentioned the case of Banjska and other tensions in the north during the past year, which were thought to increase the pressure of the West on the parties, on Kosovo and Serbia, to implement the Brussels agreement reached in Ohrid. But in reality, such a thing did not happen and tensions remained high. Is this the end of the dialogue in this form?

Veton Surroi: Perhaps the dialogue is not ending in this form, but the belief that only with these actions an agreement between Kosovo and Serbia can be reached is ending. So, Kosovo has entered a negotiation process with full will. The prime minister has repeated several times his willingness to sign the agreement. Serbia has stated several times, even in writing, that it cannot accept the agreement in its entirety. This has proven the weakness of the mediators and now we must enter a new phase, in which the guarantees of the international community must be such that the parties seriously understand them and enter into an implementation of a process which, after to this perpetual dynamic, must address security issues.

VOA: Do you think that a new process is opening now that there is a new leadership of the European Union, but also in Washington with the new administration of President-elect Trump?

Veton Surroi: Now we will see. The conditions are for a new action to see if there is readiness and preparation. Let's not forget, the issue of Kosovo is very small compared to the big crises in the world. The world has never been more insecure since the fall of the Berlin Wall, and for that matter even more complicated. And in this complication, what the United States of America, the European Union can do is to enter this process with much greater energy, so that it can be overcome as soon as possible, because it is too small a crisis for spent a lot of time on it.

VOA: Is this a crisis that can be overcome quickly? The goals of Pristina and Belgrade continue to be diametrically opposed. In fact, after these developments of the last year, what are the intentions of the parties?

Veton Surroi: Kosovo's intentions are clear. It is integration in the European Union, integration in NATO, agreement with Serbia, which is part of this journey. Serbia is divided in its strategic goals and this is a real problem, but this is a problem that exceeds Kosovo and Serbia, because the division during the last quarter of a century, the dividing line between Kosovo and Serbia has been the dividing line between the Euro-Atlantic world. and Russia. Russia, in any form, has prevented the completion of the normalization of relations so that this part is a natural part of the West. In the next quarter of a century, the danger is that if the current situation continues, the dividing line between Kosovo and Serbia will be the dividing line between the Euro-Atlantic world and the Euro-Asian world, and we will bring the new cold war to our borders. This is not in the strategic interest of either Kosovo or the West, I believe not even Serbia in the future, and this situation must be overcome.

Voice of America: What do you expect from the new American administration in the process of normalizing relations between Kosovo and Serbia?

Veton Surroi: Maybe it's still too early, because we have to see who the people are and what the priorities are. But what we know and the people we know is that the issue of Kosovo is viewed in a much wider context, and this is Russia's war and the development of the Euro-Asian world. In that sense, I believe that it will be in the interest of the Trump administration to start this work as soon as possible in order not to create this dividing line between Kosovo and Serbia, as a dividing line between the Euro-Atlantic world and the Euro world. - Asian.

Voice of America: Does the fact that the Trump administration's relations with Prime Minister Kurti were tense last time, although he actually had difficult relations with the administration of President Biden, worry you. Some observers say these relations are at their lowest point. Do you agree?

Veton Surroi: I do not believe that they are at the lowest point, but I believe that there is a great need to raise the level of relations with the new administration and this is of course not a priority of Kosovo alone. Every country in Europe tries to establish relations with the new administration and to integrate its own interests in these relations and to interweave them in such a way that they are part of the interests of the United States of America. Let's not forget, Kosovo is the most pro-American country in Europe and this is an introductory letter for communication with any administration.

Voice of America: Ambassador Morton Abramowitz, who was involved in the processes that ended the wars in the former Yugoslavia and was also an advisor to the Kosovo government in various processes, passed away these days. Are you afraid that over the years and the change of generations, Kosovo is losing an international institutional memory and the context that surrounds it?

Veton Surroi: Of course, we are losing very dear and good people, people who have helped us a lot, whose role is unfortunately not so well known even in Kosovo, but what happens is that we have entered a completely different world and in this completely different world, which is completely different from the one at the end of the 20th century, when the Kosovo issue was resolved with the intervention, with the liberation of Kosovo, with the establishment of the possibility to declare independence in an evolutionary way, we have entered a world of which changes and in which new relationships must be created, with new people.

Voice of America: Do you think that Kosovo is prepared for this next phase?

Veton Surroi: Yes, this is like the work of testing the waters in the lake or the sea. One must jump and swim./ VOA