Politico: How the Kosovo prime minister (enemy) turned gold

The point of the agreement is that Kosovo's leader is a stubborn and sometimes reckless politician who has undermined joint US-European efforts to achieve a lasting solution to peace between Kosovo and Serbia”, writes Matthew Karnitznig, Berlin-based cospositor Politico”.

Following His Writing

Washington has blamed Kurt for the recent outbreak of violence between Kosovo authorities and Serb majority communities in the country's north and has so far tried without success to contain it with public criticism. The conflict, which concerns the future status of Serb areas in northern Kosovo and Pristina's request that Belgrade finally recognise its sovereignty, has gone further out of control last days, with Serbia arresting three Kosovo border guards and with Kosovo closing the border crossing for Serbian trucks.

Kurt's critics accuse him of producing the crisis by sending paramilitary police units to Serb communities and using force in late May to deploy Albanian leaders in the region after Serbs boycotted local elections.

“We have very fundamental issues with him on whether we can count on him as partner”- this month told America's “Zer” American Ambassador to Serbia Christopher Hill.

This came after a script at “Tecter” on May 26th by his chief, State Secretary Antony Blinken, who said: “we strongly condemn actions by the Kosovo government that are evading tensions in the north and adding instability. ”

While Grenelli has long been critical of Kurti, a left-wing nationalist whose views never matched those of Trump's mob, public rebuke by the Biden administration was remarkable on several levels. Firstly, Kosovo has been a spoiled project of democratic leaders since former President Bill Clinton led NATO's successful 1999 campaign against Yugoslav strong Slobodan Milosevic, who ordered the expulsion of millions of people from homes in Kosovo's ethnic cleansing of Albanians. Many Democrats see Kosovo as a rare example of the successful construction of the American nation.

Hill is a diplomatic legend in the Balkans, which has served in the region for decades as one of the architects of the Dayton Agreement, which ended the war in Bosnia in 1995. If someone understands the extent of Serbia's negative influence throughout the region over the years, it's Hill. However, the veteran diplomat left little doubt that Belgrade, according to him, was not guilty of recent escalation.

Last week, the EU said it would suspend high-level visits with Kosovo, as well as “financial co-operation”.

Despite our repeated calls, Prime Minister Albin Kurti has so far failed to take decisive steps and actions to de-scalulate” - spokesman Peter Stano said.

Blame Game

So far, Kurti has shown little willingness to back down, insisting that Vuciki's steadfast refusal to recognise Kosovo's sovereignty and refusal to accept the realities of Serbia's wartime past is to blame for the crisis. Kurt says he is acting on principles, not on anger.

What we see from the democratic West is a clear attitude of domestication. So we got here and I think it's important for the EU and the United States to tell Vuciqi to turn back” -- Kurti said in a recently realised interview for the medium “Politco”.

Fear of Integration

However, their dissatisfaction with the Kosovo government is much deeper. Pristina doubts that local Serb communities are preparing to try to secede, noting that even 15 years after Kosovo declared independence from Belgrade, many people there continue to receive civil service and social welfare salaries from Serbia. /Periscopi/