Pre-Trip Information

Europe: Kosovo

Europe: Serbia

Special Report:  Why the Kosovo-Serbia imbroglio could be a re-emerging flashpoint in Europe

Section 1: NATO to send hundreds more peacekeepers to Kosovo to help quell violent protests

Violent protests rocked Kosovo in the last week of May 2023.  At issue was the fact that in April 2023, ethnic Serbs in Kosovo boycotted the local elections in northern Kosovo where they (ethnic Serbs) are the majority population. The result was that a predominantly ethnic Albanian delegation was elected to power, taking charge of municipal offices once held by ethnic Serbs.  Riot police accompanying the newly-elected Albanian mayors became embroiled in violent clashes with Serbs who tried to prevent them from taking control over the municipal  offices.

The fracas exploded when K-For NATO forces attempted to quell the violence and, instead, were attack by enraged Serbs.  Reports indicated that more than 30 NATO peacekeepers — Hungarians and Italians —  were among those injured in the incident, leading to international condemnation.  As well,  52 Serbs  were injured, also leading  to calls for restraint.

In the immediate future, the EU has called for riot police in Kosovo to suspend its operations at municipal offices in northern Kosovo, and also for violent protesters to “stand down.” The EU also warned of “resolute measures” it would implement as it cautioned that the “failure to de-escalate the tensions will lead to negative consequences.”   As well, French President Emmanuel Macron and  German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for fresh elections in the northern Kosovo.

Given the fact that Kosovo was now a flashpoint on the global landscape, NATO announced that it would send 700 more troops to boost its 4,000-strong K-For mission in Kosovo.   With neither side backing down, NATO then made an additional announcement that it would send even more peacekeepers on top of the 700 already set to be deployed.

Still, the situation was unlikely to be helped by Serbia’s decision  to place its military on the highest state of alert and to deploy troops to the border with Kosovo.

Section 2: Tensions increase after Serbia detains three Kosovar police officers

In mid-June 2023, the increased presence of K-For peacekeepers in Kosovo did nothing to quell the tense landscape. In fact, the situation grew increasingly grim when Serbian authorities detained three Kosovar police officers and refused to release them, even amid international pressure.

At issue was the fact that three Kosovar police officers were reported to be missing during a patrol aimed at preventing smuggling.   The police officers were later reported to have been arrested and detained by Serbia authorities, which have refused to release them, after being pressured to do so by the United States and the European Union.

Both Kosovo and Serbia have conflicting accounts of what happened.  According to Kosovo’s Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla, Serbian forced of entered Kosovo’s territory and kidnapped the three policemen.   According to Serbian authorities, the three policemen were detained deep in Belgrade’s jurisdiction.  The K-For peacekeeping mission in Kosovo could shed no light on the situation, saying in a statement that it was unclear where the Kosovar policemen actually were when they were detained by Serbian forces.

That being said, the United States has entered the fray, noting that the three policemen from Kosovo were likely arrested on bogus charges, and thus demanding that they be released immediately.  Gabriel Escobar, the United States envoy for the Western Balkans, surmised that it was very likely that either the three police officers were abducted from inside Kosovo or they  "inadvertently crossed the boundary" into Serbian territory.

In a statement, the United States Department of State said: “Their arrest and ongoing detention on spurious charges has exacerbated an already tense situation.”

With an eye on resolving the crisis, the European Union invited the leaders of Kosovo and Serbia to meet for negotiations.  Neither side was approaching to talks with even a semblance of optimism.  On June 18, 2023, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that he would "technically appear at the meeting" but added that would not directly meet with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti.  As for the head of government of Kosovo? He would not confirm his participation at all.

Meanwhile, Serbian prosecutors  in the southwestern Serbian city of Kraljevo  were going forward with their investigation of the three Kosovo policemen.

Section 3: Why the Kosovo-Serbia imbroglio could be a re-emerging flashpoint in Europe

The dissension  surrounding the local elections discussed in Section 1 of this Special Report has highlighted the ongoing discord between Kosovo and Serbia.  The crisis surrounding the detainment of Kosovar police officers by Serbia in Section 2 of they Special Report underlines the reality that the Balkans constitute a re-emerging flashpoint in Europe.

At the heart of the matter was Kosovo’s declaration of independence in 2008, which Serbia — as the successor state of the former Yugoslavia — has refused to recognize.   

The Serbian province of Kosovo, inhabited by a predominantly ethnic Albanian population,  was governed by the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) from 1999. under the authority of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244, until Kosovo’s declaration of independence in 2008. To date, Serbia has retained its claim on Kosovo even though it no longer has any official control over the country.

The ethnic divisions have only amplified the geopolitical dimension as Kosovo is home to a mostly ethnic Albanian population, with pockets of ethnic Serbs living in certain areas, including the restive region of northern Kosovo, where  flares of violence have erupted in 2023.  Accordingly, the hostilities between Pristina and Belgrade have been reinvigorated.

As indicated above, the roots of the conflict between Kosovo and Serbia go back to 1998 when ethnic Albanians revolted against rule by Serbia; in response, Serbian authorities in Belgrade carried out a harsh and brutalizing crackdown against the separatists.  With more than 13,000 people dying as a result, NATO carried out a military intervention in 1999, which compelled Serbia to pull back from the territory.  A K-For peacekeeping mission was then established in Kosovo, and then in 2008, Kosovo declared its independence.

It should be noted that while more than 100 countries, including the United States (U.S.) and most European Union (EU) countries, have recognized Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence, Serbia has not.  Meanwhile, Russia and China have sided with Serbia and criticized Western countries for supporting Kosovo’s independence and sovereignty.

In the aftermath of the flare of violence in 2023, China reiterated its support for Serbia as it ““safeguards its sovereignty and territorial integrity.” As to Russia?  Russia has long condemned the West for recognizing Kosovo’s claim of self-determination, but now Russian President Vladimir Putin was citing NATO ’s bombardment of Serbia in 1999 to justify his invasion and annexation of parts of Ukraine.

Russia’s war in Ukraine was very likely having some degree of a motivational effect on Serbia.  Emboldened by Russia’s efforts to take Ukrainian territory it views as rightfully Russian, Belgrade was certainly not backing down easily when urged by Western authorities to release the Kosovar police officers detained in June 2023.    

With the Russian war on Ukraine raging on, the U.S. and the EU have begun to forge an agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, aimed at normalizing relations.  The reality was that neither Kosovo nor Serbia would be positioned to join the EU unless they could resolve their differences.

Whether or not Pristina and Belgrade would heed the calls to resolve those differences was yet to be determined.  In fact, events in May 2023 through June 2023 would suggest that there was no glide path to the normalization of relations.  The fact of the matter was that both countries were led by nationalists — Albin Kurti in Kosovo and Aleksandar Vucic in Serbia — neither of whom has demonstrated an appetite for a resolution.