Ioannis Armakolas believes that the de-escalation of tensions in Kosovo, the result of a joint intervention by the US and the EU, is only temporary.
“Both sides have been pulling on the rope for some time now. Seeing that the strategy followed by previous governments for 15 years has not had the expected results, The government of Kosovo is escalating tensions in an attempt to impose state control over the whole country. Belgrade, for its part, is pouring oil on the fire in an attempt to strengthen its position in the region, much as it has done in Bosnia and Montenegro, too. Of course, the escalation is also due to the geopolitical developments brought about by the war in Ukraine”, he said.
At the same time, he believes that the international factor–and the US, in particular–which, given the war in Ukraine, do not want ethnic tensions to escalate in other regions, are maintaining an equal distance from Belgrade and Pristina. “But to guide events towards resolution rather than short-term de-escalation requires active diplomacy on the part of the EU and the US. A comprehensive solution would seek both to consolidate the sovereignty of Kosovo’s statehood and to strengthen the protection given the Serbs in Kosovo,” he said. He also talked about the recent Franco-German initiative aimed at an agreement between the two sides.
Click to listen to the interview (in Greek)
