Der Standard: Kosovo, majority Muslim country with close ties to Turkey

A report by the Austrian newspaper Der Standard says that Russia, Turkey and China are trying to capitalise on the decline in EU and US activity in the Western Balkans, leading to an impact vacuum.

“Russia uses the weakness of others”, says Florian Bieber, professor at the University of Graz. He adds, however, that the pending agreement on the name Macedonia-Greece and normalisation of relations between Serbia and Kosovo hurt Russia's interests in the region.

Republika Srpska, a majority Serb entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina, remains the largest Russian asset. “Dodik visits his chief in the Kremlin as often as possible”, writes Standard, citing the example of the Serbian-Russian cultural centre in Banja Luka as evidence of the increasing influence of the Eurasian influence.

Another regional player is trying to influence Bosnia and Herzegovina with the interest of the Bosnian Muslim population, Turkey. The surveys speak of “tourism” of Bosniaks through Bakir Izetbegovic, the leader of the big empty party, the SDA, and a member of the presidency of three people.

“During Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdogan's recent visit to Sarajevo in May, Izetbegovic said he came from Allah”, Standard recalls. Cultural policy like rebuilding Ottoman-era mosques is a key point of Turkey's influence in Bosnia.

Another predominantly Muslim country with close ties to Turkey is Kosovo, says Der Stradard. In March of this year, 6 Turkish citizens were arrested in Pristina by the intelligence agency for close ties with Fetullah Gulen.

However, the Anti-Gulen campaign is not helping Turkey with its cause in the Balkans, Bieber says. “Much energy was spent on campaigning, and because of this, the impact in the region has been lost”, he explains.

The article closes with a quick summary of the growing power role, China, in the region. It has been so far, strictly economic. Could not say the same for infrastructure projects. In this respect, China represents a geoeconomic rival for the EU, but not geostrategic”, concludes Der Standard.