Joseph: Political crisis is Kosovo's internal problem, US will not use all levers of influence

Senior Fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies Edward Joseph said that Washington's expression of dissatisfaction with the political deadlock in Kosovo is a positive signal, but that it is unlikely that the US will use all its levers of influence and economic measures, as this is an internal political problem in Kosovo.

Joseph told Kosovo Online that the responsibility for the artificially created crisis in Kosovo lies primarily with caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

„I do not believe it is possible to exert direct pressure because responsibility for this completely artificially created crisis is shared. Obviously, Kurti bears the greatest responsibility because he won the election and could already have opted for a consensus candidate for president and gotten out of this chaos. At the same time, the opposition also bears responsibility. This is a crisis for the entire country, and it is very harmful to the country. That is why it is positive and encouraging that the US administration is expressing its dissatisfaction and thereby creating a certain amount of pressure“, Joseph said.

According to him, the reactions of the US and EU to the political deadlock in Kosovo are a good signal.

„Many people say: The Trump administration does not care about the Balkans at all. So it is encouraging to see that it is expressing its dissatisfaction, as are the countries of the European Union. I think there is an appropriate role for a country like the United States to cooperate and talk with political leaders and try to help them reach an agreement that is, above all, a sovereign decision of the sovereign state of Kosovo, but also to finally get out of this deadlock, which, I repeat, is very bad for the country“, our interlocutor added.

As he said, the United States has levers of influence, but will not use them regarding Kosovo because it is involved in many other global crises.

„Kosovo is a small country, and if the US were to use all its levers, it could do so, but it is unlikely that it will. The United States has global responsibilities and is involved in major crises, now in Ukraine and Iran as well. There are also trade issues. There is a great deal that the US government has to deal with, apart from the artificially created internal political crisis in Kosovo“, Joseph believes.

As for economic measures or sanctions against Kosovo, Joseph added that it is difficult to discuss them because the political deadlock in Kosovo is an internal matter and does not concern an international obligation that Pristina has undertaken but failed to fulfill.

„It is not that simple to talk about economic measures because responsibility is shared. Second, this is not a matter of an international obligation that Kosovo is failing to fulfill, nor an obligation that Kosovo has undertaken and is not honoring. This is an internal problem among Kosovo's political leaders, who are failing to fulfill the responsibility they have toward voters and are acting in very selfish and cynical ways, and that is very concerning. Again, I say that responsibility is shared, but the reality is that Kurti is the one who won the election and who has the greatest ability to break this deadlock. He bears the greatest responsibility“, Joseph said.