Hoti: Both Belgrade and Pristina are waiting for the outcome of the war in Ukraine, seeking their chance for a final resolution

Analyst from Pristina, Afrim Hoti, assesses that with the war in Ukraine, the issue of Kosovo and the Balkans has fallen down the EU's list of priorities and that both Belgrade and Pristina are effectively waiting for the end of the war and who will emerge victorious, seeking an opportunity to achieve their goals.

"It seems that the political leaders of both countries are waiting for a 'final solution,' or the end of the war in Ukraine, expecting that they will then be able to secure a new position for themselves. If Russia wins this war, there is no doubt that political leaders in Serbia will use that to avoid compliance with international rules, especially when it comes to recognizing Kosovo. On the other hand, if the winner of this war is Ukraine, which would mean a victory for Western countries, then Serbia will definitely be left with no option but to recognize and normalize relations with Kosovo," Hoti believes.

This analyst emphasizes that with the onset of conflict in Eastern Europe in 2022, followed by the war between Israel and Hamas in 2023, it was expected that the issue of Kosovo would fall down the EU's list of priorities, that the conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East would "hide" the negotiation process between Serbia and Kosovo.

"The Balkans issue is undoubtedly one of the most complex issues for the EU, but it couldn't stay at the top of their political agenda forever. We have seen many other events take precedence, such as the war in Ukraine or the war between Hamas and Israel, and there may be other conflicts in the future," Hoti assesses.

He says that the war in Ukraine has definitely produced consequences for the European Union, and when viewed in the light of the Kosovo issue, Serbia's political leadership since 2022 has not shown sincere willingness for a serious approach and concrete progress in finding a final solution for normalizing relations.

"The fact that Serbia has decided to maintain close and good relations with the Russian Federation indicates that it still harbors hope, in my opinion, hopeless, that it will somehow retain Kosovo as a sovereign and territorially integrated part of Serbia. That seems completely impossible. Creating states is like giving birth to children. Once it happens, we cannot return the child to the mother's womb. It is impossible for the international community to change its stance on recognizing Kosovo. There will be no change in that decision," Hoti emphasizes.

Commenting on two years since the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine, Hoti believes that this conflict has produced geopolitical consequences and led to the repositioning of major players.

"We are witnessing significant changes, especially in the field of security. On the one hand, there has been a homogenization of Western powers, the 'westernization of the world,' and on the other hand, Russia's turning to other major powers such as China is visible," Hoti says.

In such geopolitical circumstances, Hoti believes that both Serbia and Kosovo are fortunate because of their geographic location as they belong to Europe.

"At the same time, they are able to wait for Europe to solve the problem on its eastern borders," Hoti concludes.