Sunday's conflict in the north of Kosovo was one of the worst since Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, the AP agency estimates today, adding that there is fear in the West of a revival of the war in Kosovo.
Tensions between Serbia and Kosovo flared again over the weekend when around XNUMX heavily armed Serbs barricaded themselves in an Orthodox monastery in northern Kosovo, starting a day-long gun battle with police that left one policeman and four attackers dead.
The conflict occurred at a time when the European Union and the US are trying to mediate and finalize the multi-year talks on the normalization of relations between the two Balkan states, writes AP.
AP states that there is a fear in the West that Russia, acting through its ally Serbia, is trying to destabilize the Balkans and thus divert at least a little attention from its aggression against Ukraine.
Recalling that negotiations on the normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo were initiated in 2012, but that a comprehensive agreement has not yet been reached, AP points out that in addition to difficulties in finding a solution, both Kosovo and Serbia have nationalist leaders.
International mediators often accuse Kosovo Prime Minister Aljbin Kurti of moves that cause unnecessary tensions. On the other hand, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić is a former ultra-nationalist who insists that Serbia will never recognize Kosovo and that before concluding new agreements, an earlier agreement to give the Kosovo Serbs some level of independence must first be implemented, the agency adds.
Vučić tacitly acknowledged the loss of Serbia's control over Kosovo, but says that Belgrade will not agree to a settlement unless it gets something.
International officials still hope that Kosovo and Serbia can reach an agreement that would allow Kosovo to get a seat in the UN, without Serbia having to explicitly recognize its statehood, AP writes, adding that Serbia and Kosovo must normalize relations if they want to progress towards membership. in the EU.
No progress in the EU-brokered talks would mean prolonged instability, economic decline and the continued potential for conflict.
Any Serbian military intervention in Kosovo would mean a conflict with the peacekeeping forces there, and it is unlikely that Serbia will move, unless it receives some kind of Russian support, according to AP.
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