Lazic: Kosovo’s membership in Interpol would bring it closer to the UN, for Serbia it is a matter of national security

The Dean of the Faculty of Diplomacy and Security in Belgrade, Prof. Dr. Radojica Lazic, told Kosovo Online that membership in Interpol is important for Pristina because it brings it closer to the United Nations, while for Serbia, Kosovo’s accession to this international organization is a matter of national security.

“Membership of the so-called state of Kosovo in Interpol is very important for its further integration and membership in international organizations, both because of data exchange and because it would, in a way, become part of that framework or move closer to the United Nations,” Lazic said.

For Serbia, he emphasized, it is clear why it is important that Kosovo does not become part of Interpol.

“It is very important for Serbia that Kosovo does not enter Interpol for one simple reason – because Serbia does not recognize the independence of its southern province of Kosovo and Metohija. For that reason, Belgrade quite reasonably does everything it can to prevent Kosovo’s entry into that international police organization, because this is part of the national security policy of the Republic of Serbia, in which the province of Kosovo is part of the territory of the Republic of Serbia,” he said.

Speaking about why Kosovo has not submitted new membership applications for years, Lazic recalled that the last application was at the General Assembly in Dubai on 20 November 2018, when Kosovo failed to secure the required two-thirds majority.

“All this time they have not even tried for one simple reason – they know they do not have the support for such a move, and that support, as far as I know, is becoming even weaker,” he said.

Regarding the initiative to open a regional Interpol office in Belgrade, Lazic believes that Serbia has strong arguments for this.

“Starting from the geopolitical and geostrategic position of the Republic of Serbia, we must keep in mind that all major international routes intersect in this area. For these reasons, the request for a regional center of this highly important international police cooperation to be stationed in our capital is entirely justified,” the Dean of the Faculty of Diplomacy and Security said.

As for the practical implications for Kosovo if a regional office were to open in Belgrade, he pointed out that communication would still take place through international missions.

“There are so-called police institutions there through UNMIK and EULEX, which in a way indirectly cooperate with this international police organization such as Interpol. The only way in which the provisional institutions in Pristina could indirectly cooperate with that organization is through UNMIK and EULEX,” Lazic explained.