Why is Haradinaj worried about Russian citizens' movements in Kosovo

Several recent recent movements of Russian citizens in Kosovo have concerned outgoing Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, who has sought vigilance and increased caution from the Kosovo Police, stressing that Russia aims to implement its agendas in Kosovo as well.

“Do not allow a vacuum to be used by enemies of public order and security, to benefit both terrorisation but also mechanisms that are hostilely motivated towards Kosovo. In the past, we have had the risk of terrorism, but not to forget the Russian influence in the Balkans, their desire that their agendas burst into the Balkans and in Kosovo” has been addressed to the heads of security organs in Kosovo, Ramush Haradinaj.

Kosovo police have not provided any answers to Haradinaj's concerns.

The recogniser of military and security issues, former Kosovo Security Forces Commander Kadri Kastrati, told Radio Free Europe that Kosovo cannot be immune to Russia's interests and influences in the Balkans. According to him, Russia specifically aims to discourage Western Balkan countries on their two main integration routes, on the road to NATO membership and the European Union, respectively.

In view of this belief, Kastrati also understands Haradinaj's concern, which has called on security bodies to be more vigilant that they do not allow undesirable things to happen at a time when Kosovo has not yet established new institutions released from the 6 October elections.

“The number one interest here is Serbia's to keep Kosovo as much as possible in this unclear situation. Russia wants the Western Balkans not to be part of the largest political-military organisation, so NATO. So years ago, they built a supposedly humanitarian base in Nis, Serbia, which is actually the basis of Russian intelligence and intelligence and counterintelligence”, Kastrati said.

Meanwhile, the security issue connoisseur, former Kosovo Assembly President Nuredin Ibishi, told Radio Free Europe that Russia's claims on boosting influence in the Balkans, including Kosovo, are numerous and expressed in various forms. While in Kosovo, he says, added risk could present Russian intelligence influence Through Serbia.

As for the circulation of Russian citizens to Kosovo legally, this form, according to him, is manageable by the Kosovo Police, but as a problem, he sees attempts to enter Kosovo illegally.

The “know their tendencies and infiltrates, which may be of different quality, whether it be of the journalist... who might be supposed to be part of the Russian intelligence, but the case is known not only in Kosovo but also in the region, as it happened in northern Macedonia and Montenegro, where especially in Montenegro, it has been the attempt to bring down Montenegro's government <x1, Ibi said.

Kosovo police, on 16 December, have stopped at the International Airport in Pristina, a Russian citizen who was making unauthorized recordings at Pristina's old airport.

Another Russian citizen, Member of UNMIK, in May, he was arrested by Kosovo Police after being found near several barricades, through which the Kosovo Police have attempted to undermine the implementation of an action.

In contrast, according to the Kosovo Statistics Agency, 1437 Russian citizens last year have visited Kosovo, while by September of this year the number of visitors from Russia was 620. On the other hand, Kosovo citizens find it very difficult to travel to Russia because of the immediate rejection of passports.

Even in the area of the economy, according to Kosovo authorities, Expanding Russian InfluenceIt comes mainly through Serbia, although direct investments in Kosovo are in minimum value. According to official Kosovo Central Bank data, there was no direct investment from Russia to Kosovo during 2019. In fact, the entire accumulated investment stock from Russia to Kosovo by the end of June, according to the CEC, is less than 200 thousand euros.