Blazic: Rama accepted Kurti's game, they are competing for who will lead a more extreme policy

Marko Blazic from the Center for Social Stability assesses that Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, for political gain, has accepted Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti's game of competing to see who will lead a more extreme policy and who will promote themselves as the leader of Albanians in the Balkans.

That is how Blazic comments on the recent statement by the Albanian Prime Minister that Albania will stand by Kosovo even if things escalate to the point of using weapons and that every attack on Kosovo is an attack on Albania.

"After the gathering in Tetovo where Albin Kurti promoted himself as the leader of 'Greater Albania' and the 'all Albanian,' as they call it, that he will finally fulfill the dream of the Prizren League of 'Greater Albania,' Edi Rama was forced, and unfortunately, we see that he has accepted Albin Kurti's game of competing to see who will lead a more extreme policy because such policies have support among the Albanian population not only in Kosovo but also in North Macedonia and Albania. Rama was forced to accept this game for political points and the race that is now evident – who will promote themselves as the leader of Albanians in the Balkans, whether it will be Albin Kurti or Edi Rama," Blazic believes.

He points out that this statement by Rama is historically supported because, he says, in 1999 Albanian regular forces supported the aggression against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

However, Blazic emphasizes that it is absurd to comment on any war because of the presence of KFOR forces on the ground.

"Serbia has never expressed a desire to resolve the Kosovo issue militarily, and this has been proven many times. We have never refused negotiations, even though the Brussels Agreement has been violated and the Community of Serb Municipalities has not been formed for more than 11 years. We are still aware that it is better to negotiate for 100 days than to lead a war for one day. Albin Kurti is the one who wants ethnically clean Kosovo, and he has currently opted for the model of a silent 'Storm.' However, we see the arming of the Kosovo Security Forces, and in some perspective, the formation of the so-called Kosovo army is his desire, and perhaps he sees that he could transition from the model of a silent 'Storm' to violent ethnic cleansing of the Kosovo territory. He reflects these desires with some 'justifications' that Serbia will launch aggression," Blazic says.

As he adds, the situation is further complicated by geopolitical circumstances because Albin Kurti consistently talks about and draws parallels to the war between Russia and Ukraine, suggesting that Serbia could resort to something similar.

"He says that Vucic is a 'little Putin' in the Balkans and that we are a Russian base in the Balkans, which is not based on reality or facts at all. But that rhetoric is receptive to the Albanian population in our southern province and undoubtedly brings him political points," Blazic concludes.