Serbia continues to have an imperial subconscious and by all means tries to keep its tentacles on the new and weak countries around it like Bosnia, Montenegro, Kosovo and North Macedonia. Belgrade has a history of aggressive territorial expansion and relies on social-psychological foundations that favour violence and conflict. The dark leader of the Yugoslav warlords was the Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic, the "Kasapin of the Balkans", whose collaborators still rule in Belgrade today. Coordination between the countries of the region and Bulgaria, as the most powerful country, with the largest economy and a member of the EU, guarantees peace and European integration. This was stated in an interview with BGNES by Bekim Kyoku, adviser to Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti on bilateral relations with North Macedonia and a former MP in the country.
Asked by BGNES who is destabilising the Balkans and pushing the countries towards conflict, Kyoku stressed that a definitive answer - "Serbia" - could only be given by a brief review of historical facts. "Politics without history is a game", says Albin Kurti, Kosovo's prime minister. It takes very little knowledge of history to conclude that the region, the Balkans and even Europe are troubled by Serbia's destabilising political behaviour. The ideas of a 'Greater Serbia' and now a 'Serbian World' have always been nurtured by the Belgrade Academy of Sciences and Arts and the Serbian Orthodox Church. Serbia was the sole cause of the wars for the break-up of Yugoslavia, in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo, which led to the death of about 150,000 people, most of them elderly, women and children. It was the deadliest war in Europe since the Second World War. The dark leader of these wars was Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic, the "Kasapin of the Balkans," Kyoku said, adding:
"Today, 24 years after his last war, the one in Kosovo, Serbia is led by close associates of the 'Casapin of the Balkans', his propaganda minister, Vucic, as prime minister, and his government spokesman Ivica Dacic, now foreign minister."
The adviser to the Kosovo prime minister did not fail to note the ongoing ties between the regimes in Belgrade and Moscow and the belligerent approach of the Serbian leadership.
"In the last 10 years, Serbia has been spending about 1.5 billion euros a year on armaments, which it mainly gets from Russia and China. Serbia also hosts the largest Russian Sputnik base in the region, which it uses as a propaganda hotspot. Serbia has not imposed sanctions on Russia and Putin is the most popular politician in the country, even more popular than Vucic himself. These are just a few objectively verifiable indications of the current Serbian government's potentially bellicose approach."
Asked whether the Western world understood that the region faced the danger of a return of Serbian chauvinism and hegemony, Koçu stressed that Serbia was a precursor to Russian imperialist actions. In his words, "Putin copied Milosevic to a greater extent than Serbia copied Russia."
"The break-up of a federal Yugoslavia with eight political units was not acceptable only for Serbia. Why? Because it maintained a superior and hegemonic position in relation to the other seven political units. It continues to have an imperial subconscious and by all means tries to keep its tentacles on the new and weak states around it such as Bosnia, Montenegro, Kosovo and North Macedonia. Serbia has a history of aggressive territorial expansion. Serbia relies on social and psychological foundations that favour violence and conflict. With this mentality, which continues to be fostered by the current regime to this day, it cannot agree to go down the path of Euro-Atlantic integration on its own in a normal way. Despite having lost three wars, Serbia has created buffer zones which it uses for destabilisation and uses destabilisation as a trade currency with the EU and the US", Albin Kurti's advisor is adamant.
In his view, the situation is crystal clear for the West, which must prevent Belgrade from becoming a policeman in the Balkans at all costs.
"This historical-political panorama of the current situation described here is very clear for us who tolerate Serbian chauvinism on our own skin, but it is crystal clear for the Western world as well. Serbia in Europe is, as I have said, that criminal who is constantly breaking the law and committing crimes, while at the same time pointing to the symptom of the EU's weakness and powerlessness. It is frightening to speculate that Europe's plan for the future of the Balkans is to create a powerful Serbia to play the role of policeman, because it does not have the will and capacity to maintain order and peace in the region on its own. A powerful Serbia is an arrogant Serbia and a constant threat to the entire Balkans", Koçu noted.
He commented on the prospects for relations between Kosovo and Bulgaria, along with other neighbouring countries Albania and North Macedonia, as well as Sofia's role in geopolitical processes.
"The Kurti government was and is against the Open Balkans project. In an interview two years ago with the Bulgarian press I said that this project, initiated by Serbia and unfortunately supported by Edi Rama, aims to bring North Macedonia back into political union with Serbia, like a mini Yugoslavia. Albanians as a people, wherever they are in the Balkans, have never approved of Edi Rama's friendship with Vucic. He justifies this absurd friendship by his extravagance, which is in fact a political excess."
According to the Kosovo PM's adviser, Sofia should take the initiative and play a much bigger role as the most powerful country in the region and an EU member.
"Until now, the good relations between us were, unfortunately, almost on a platonic level. Very little has been done concretely. In these relations - to put it in perspective - it is up to Bulgaria to play a more active role than it has done so far. It is the most powerful country, with the largest economy and a member of the EU. When the governments of Northern Macedonia were not interested in Corridor 8, which connects the Black Sea with the Adriatic by road and rail, Bulgaria had to be more assertive because of its greater influence in the EU. I think it is time to achieve rapprochement in different areas, especially economic, intellectual, cultural, etc. Perhaps increasing the staff in embassies, opening consulates in different cities will be the first step in developing new relations," Kyoku said.
"With the arrival of Albin Kurti at the head of the Kosovo government, a much warmer climate has been created, which is conducive to the development of closer relations between the two countries in particular, but also between the two peoples in general, Albanians and Bulgarians. He is a champion of a stronger union between Bulgarians and Albanians. It is no coincidence that among the rare bilateral meetings he had at the Bled forum was the one with Bulgarian Prime Minister Denkov. His statement in Tetovo that North Macedonia should get closer to Bulgaria, Kosovo and Albania and distance itself from Serbia received an international response", Kyoku recalled, commenting on the Open Balkans project and its true nature:
In his words, coordination between the bona fide partner countries in line with the European process can be a guarantor for peace and prosperity in the Balkans.
"Tirana's consciousness of cooperation with Croatia, Bulgaria, Montenegro and especially Kosovo clarifies the situation in the Balkans, guarantees peace and accelerates European integration. Our policies must be coordinated and we must not allow the West to waste time dreaming of a European Serbia. With a weak Balkans, Serbia remains a solid Russia in the region. With a coordinated Balkans, Serbia can change its leadership caste," Kyoku concluded. / BGNES
