Former ambassadors see diplomacy weaker than in the 1990s: With sanctions and no new recognition

Kosovo's position in the international arena is weaker since its declaration of independence, former accredited ambassadors in the world assess, while failing to faten the government led by Albin Kurti.

Former ambassadors for Online Economics cite sanctions imposed by the European Union and lack of new recognitions. They see Kosovo as isolated from the EU as the result of the actions of Kosovo institutions.

Former Kosovo Ambassador to Brussels Bernard Nikaj says that Kosovo, like Russia and Belarus, has failed to obtain candidate status. Nikaj is also criticising the failure to comply with obligations made by dialogue with Serbia.

I believe Kosovo is in the most difficult positions in its history as an independent state in the international arena. At the moment that we are talking Kosovo is a country under sanctions from the European Union and it is the only country to exclude Russia and Belarus, which on the European continent has no official candidate status in contrast to other countries, and Kosovo is in a pressure added by our allies to move ahead with some of the obligations it has in relation to international friends and especially with the Kosovo-Serbia” dialogue, says Nikaj.

Nikaj has also cited a lack of new recognitions and non-membership in various international organisations. He says Kosovo diplomacy is only enjoying photographs from meetings with foreign leaders.

The results and costs we are paying with this stagnation in the international arena. Our diplomacy is pleased with pictures of the meetings that leaders have had in different countries, but the tangible results for our country have not occurred. We are blocked in membership, there are no new recognitions, dialogue has become the head of reports with both the EU and the US, and we are seeing no progress in these” areas, says Nikaj.

And for the situation in the harshest international arena, Avni Arifi, former Kosovo ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, has been shown.

Arifi says Kosovo diplomacy has no vision and strategy and that friendly states are no longer supporting the actions of Kurti Government.

“We had in the 1990s Kosovo was led by a movement that was the Democratic League of Kosovo, we were not a state but we were respected. Kosovo's foreign policy is weaker, is less disrespectful and without vision and without strategy, and compared to that foreign policy of the 1990s when we were not a state, we are now much weaker. Nor are we respected, nor are we appreciated, and today you can see in communication almost no European country that strongly stands behind the attitudes of our government, neither in Europe nor in the United States of America”, Arifi says.

While former Kosovo Ambassador to the United States Avni Spahiu has asked for more attention in politics in the international arena.

He says Kosovo in 15 years of state-building has managed to preserve good reports with international allies.

Kosovo's “15 years of reports with the world, especially Western democracy, have been a long, productive road with problems of course, but on this journey we have to make an effort in the first place to maintain friendship with countries, especially those that have helped to build Kosovars' aspirations for independence and we have to be serious about our approach to European diplomacy to deal seriously with”, Spahiu says.

Although sanctions from the European Union are still in effect, Spahiu does not see reports with the EU burdened. He adds that there is no deterioration of reports with international partners, but that requires more caution, EO reports.

I'm saying that we've been through many challenges and many trials that Kosovo has passed successfully, we've built relationships, and now it's an obligation to co-operate with these countries and to re-act our aspirations, our interests as a state to move towards Euro-Atlantic integration and European integration. We've had ups and downs in these reports, which is that there hasn't been an open deterioration or frustration with these countries, our partners, but we have to continue to build reports, to be serious about our approach even in relation to our allies”, Spahiu said.