Normalization of relations between the Serbs and Albanians: What does it depend on and what would it bring?

After the agreement in Ohrid on the implementation of the Agreement on the Normalization of Relations between Serbia and Kosovo, both parties are expected to fulfill their obligations, and behind all the documents, items, and statements, there is the daily life of the people, the Serbs, and Albanians, in Kosovo.

The Serbs are expecting the formation of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities, which should represent a guarantee for the protection of their rights and safe life, and the Albanians are seeking confirmation of their statehood from Serbia.

Between opposing views, the daily life of the Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo takes place, but it is the Serbs who are exposed to threats, looting of property, physical and even armed attacks, and disregard for all rights.

The normalization of relations between the two largest nations in the Western Balkans would contribute to the positive development of cooperation in all areas in the region, and thus to progress.

When asked what the normalization of relations between the Serbs and Albanians depended on, journalist Bosko Jaksic answered for Kosovo Online that - fortunately, the confluence of circumstances was such that it did not depend on Belgrade and Pristina, but to the greatest extent on European and American mediators in the dialogue for the normalization of relations.

Jaksic points out that, if you look at what was agreed in Brussels and Ohrid, Vucic and Kurti were left with minimal room for maneuver, as well as a much shortened time frame in which they have to start putting into practice what was agreed upon in the new negotiations.

"For me, this is encouraging news, bearing in mind all the force of procrastination that continues in the negotiations, for which the negotiators in Belgrade and Pristina are responsible, but also to a significant extent the EU, which has been pretty much asleep all these years. It is clear that the war in Ukraine changed all the formulas and that it acted as an alarm clock to remove the most nerve-wracking point from the map of the Western Balkans as soon as possible, which is the conflict over Kosovo," Jaksic believes.

He points out that the normalization of relations should be observed at two levels - at the level of agreement, and the level of everyday life.
According to him, the agreements between Serbia and Kosovo should contribute to solving a number of technical problems, and he sees a "whole list" of them, from the important ones to those that are more related to everyday life.

"And, full normalization is a process that will take a long time and we should not expect that with the adoption of the agreement on the same day or the next day, the Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo would suddenly start to be brothers and live in the most normal way. If the animosity has been real for decades, then it must decades to get rid of," Jaksic notes.

That was why this was the beginning of a long and painful process of normalizing relations at the level of the two nations, he added.

Jaksic also pointed out that everyone could benefit from the normalization of relations between Serbs and Albanians because it opened the perspective of peace and stability.

"It is to be expected that the Serbs in Kosovo will not have to be afraid, to stand guard at night and look after the cattle, or to ask themsleves if someone will shoot at their children, carrying the Serbian Christmas tree. The region eliminates the potential danger of conflict that the Kosovo problem always carries and can concentrate on solving the only other remaining point of conflict, which is Bosnia and Herzegovina," Jaksic explains.

He adds that Europe also gains a "level playing field" in its desire to be completely united against Russia.

On the other hand, according to his words, the only loser could be Russia, which has used Kosovo as the main channel for strengthening its influence since 1999.

"Abolishing the frozen conflict is completely contrary to Russian interests because we see that Moscow is still very nervous and warns that Serbia cannot just accept the Western proposal and that it should wait for the end of the Ukrainian war, and even openly threatens incalculable damage to mutual relations. Russia is threatened with being on a wider stage, being the only loser with the solution of the Kosovo problem," Jaksic believes.

Analyst Shkelzen Maliqi points out that there are many segments in ordinary life in which it can be seen that the normalization of relations between the Serbs and Albanians is possible, and that common life has always been possible, as it is now, even though "high politicians" have been trying to prove for 30 years that it is impossible.

"But now the Serbs in Kosovo are hostages of two political concepts that do not allow them to decide for themselves and to be the subject in negotiations, they bypass each other or tutors are sent from Belgrade to tell them how to behave, and then Kurti as a member of parliament who thinks he can enforce laws on his own without preparation is constantly causing crises that touch and affect the practical interests of the Serbian community in Kosovo. But now he has learned that he cannot do without coordination with the EU and the US," Maliqi said.

As he says, Kurti cannot only look at one side, but neither can Vucic, but a political solution is needed, and the Franco-German proposal can pass through a small gate and change the situation a little, so that practical things are not conditioned.

"Kosovo passports are a reality; identity cards are a reality, such as the fact that people who have Serbian passports and identity cards can come to Kosovo without reciprocity being established. Some things must be turned a blind eye if we want normal communication to be established. Kosovo has not been under the Serbian administration for 24 years. Previously, there were parallel authorities, now they are Kosovo institutions, in the north of Kosovo there was also the Serbian police, the judiciary, and all that needs to be regulated, and what it will be called is not very important," Maliqi says.

He notes that there are about 10 or more self-government proposals that could work.

"We cannot manage the Serb minority in those municipalities where they are 100 percent of the population. They will certainly have some self-government... For years, the fear has been sown that the Serbs who remained here as a minority do not see the prospect of living in Kosovo, nor Kosovo and Serbia do not have a great democratic tradition. But that can be learned from ordinary people, how they lived before and how they live now and have normal communication. It should be made as easy as possible for them so that some bureaucratic procedures do not hinder their lives," Maliqi says.

On the other hand, historian and publicist Cedomir Antic believes that everything that is happening today regarding the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina is actually a "stretching" of relations and part of the tactics devised by the Western powers, while the true normalization is already achieved amnesty.

"Our relations were normalized at the time when Albin Kurti was released from Belgrade, and at the time when the amnesty was declared when the normal functioning of the two nations was enabled, when the international administration, i.e. the protectorate over the autonomous province of Kosovo and Metohija," Antic said.

Antic warns that the steps towards the final normalization of relations between the two sides are only moving over time and that the conditions for this are increasing. He also assesses that the current political elite believes that the Serbs are newcomers to the Balkans, while the natives and original inhabitants are Albanians.

As he says, in the conditions of deep fascism in the Albanian society in Kosovo, the issue of reconciliation implies that everything should be in accordance with those who are the political descendants of the extreme communists who established their autonomy and the fascists who served Hitler and Mussolini.

Antic also says that the Kosovo authorities behave as if the war ended yesterday, even though they bear almost no responsibility for the war events in Kosovo. That is why for him the talk about the normalization of relations is "completely meaningless".

In order for the two sides to sincerely reconcile, he says that there must be an honest agreement, assessing that what happened in Ohrid, is not an agreement, but a dictate and that it is dictated by the US, while the EU has "as much influence as the Western Balkans".

Antic points out that the actions of the US in these areas are part of their great war against Russia and that Serbia is offered the minimum, just as in Croatia there is a Joint Council of the Serbian Community, he says, only in principle and on the website.

"Perhaps they will turn that community into some kind of stone in the shoe of the Albanians, but it will not be any Serbian community, but it will be a stone in the hands of the Americans," he assesses.

He states that the Albanian political elites are always with the force that conquers the world and that the Albanians, like any other people, are good.

He adds that the nations have already reconciled and that when Albanians come to Serbia, they have no problems, and that the economy functions smoothly.

"For true reconciliation, Serbia will have to fulfill its vow and liberate Kosovo and Metohija, but that kind of full revenge will never come to Serbia if we make a compromise," Antic says.

He also says that if Kosovo secedes from Serbia, the same rights must be given to the Republika Srpska, the Serbs in the north and east of Kosovo and in Montenegro.

"So, if this is to be done, it should not be done in one place and not done in another. If we are talking about independence supported by a minority of countries in the world, then we have to reach a compromise so that everyone is satisfied," Antic said.