Former American ambassador: Kosovo was treated as an undisciplined child, Serbia is deep in Russia and China's arms

Former US Ambassador to Kosovo Philip Costett has declared that efforts to draw Serbia into the wings of the West instead of China and Russia have yielded no results and that now is the time to launch a new approach.

Cosnet in an interview for “Eractiv” said that during the last 15-20 years of efforts to mediate agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, there was a kind of tendency to be frustrated with Kosovo and treat it as “undisciplined children, which should do as said”.

“This, combined with the idea that Serbia is the most important in the region, and we need to use “into the European fold rather than push it into the arms of Russia and China”, has not been the wisest approach”, he added.

Former US ambassador added that Serbia is the only country in Europe that has not joined Western sanctions against Russia since Moscow invaded Ukraine.

I think Serbia is clearly deeply dipped in the arms of Russia and China. So, whatever efforts internationals have undertaken throughout these years to draw Belgrade to the West have not yet shown any results of”, he said.

Kossnet, now a senior associate for the Transatlantic Defence and Security programme at the Centre for European Policy Analysis, added that it is time for Europe and the West to be more realistic about it.

As Russia actively continues efforts to destabilise the Western Balkans, Kossnett said it would be an important manifestation of European and Western solidarity of “recognition the reality that Kosovo exists” and the fact “which is state”.

“I think this would be a good time for the US and the European Union to make a strong appeal to those European countries who are NATO members who have not recognised Kosovo to do so,” said Kossnet.