Less: Decision to withdraw Kosovo Police a reluctant concession to satisfy the US and EU

Timothy Less, a collaborator at the Centre for Geopolitics at the University of Cambridge, stated that the decision of the Pristina authorities to withdraw 25% of the Kosovo Police Forces from municipalities with a Serbian majority in the north was a reluctant concession to the international community, Blic reports.

Less emphasized that this was evident in the fact that Pristina had withdrawn only a minimal number of police officers to satisfy the US and EU.

He stated that the recent concessions made by the authorities in Pristina were solely a response to the international sanctions that were painful for Pristina and Prime Minister Albin Kurti, who, as Less noted, was susceptible to attacks from the political opposition.

As Less indicated for Tanjug regarding the continuation of dialogue, Kurti's recent moves suggest that there is a reasonable chance for the resumption of negotiations, but that does not automatically imply progress on the key issue of establishing the Community of Serb Municipalities.

"Pressure from sanctions will probably force him to make yet another reluctant concession. However, we know that Kurti opposes granting autonomy to Serbs, which means there is a significant chance that events will simply return to where they were a few weeks ago, with a stalemate in negotiations and a fragile ceasefire on the ground that will not last through the next provocation," Less concluded.