Milivojevic: Initiators of the letter belong to the Albanian lobby, confirmation that Kurti has external support

Diplomat Zoran Milivojevic assessed today that the letter addressed to official Washington, Brussels, and London by certain European parliamentarians and American congresspersons, who were calling for a tougher policy towards Serbia in the context of the crisis in Kosovo, represented a new pressure on Serbia, stating that the initiators of the letter belonged to a sort of Albanian lobby, RTV reported.
Milivojevic pointed out that among the initiators of the letter are the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the British Parliament, Alicia Kearns, the Chair of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Menendez, and the Chair of the German Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael Roth, adding that Kearns and Menendez had continued their activities in the past two months.
"Menendez initiated testimony in the US Senate from roughly the same positions, with the message that Serbia should be pressured, not the Pristina side, and we also had Ms. Kearns on the line these days with her interpretation and position related to the Pristina side. Some of her views are incorporated into this letter as well," Milivojevic said for Tanjug.
He stresses that all of this confirms that there is a serious pro-Albanian lobby and that, as he says, it is concentrated in legislative positions in individual countries, and it is indicative that there is a large number of presidents of foreign affairs committees.
"Another dimension related to the initiators is that the Prime Minister of the temporary institutions in Pristina, Albin Kurti, and the Pristina side have external support. This is a direct confirmation of more or less what we assumed, that it is simply impossible for Kurti to behave like this without some external support. It has now become completely clear, even which structures are involved," Milivojevic said.
As he assessed, not only was there support for Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, but the letter was in a way an attempt to defend Kurti, given that he was subjected to pressure and criticism in Western centers of power due to the policy he was implementing.
"This is particularly interesting when it comes to the US, considering that this slightly deviates from what representatives of the administration have been saying lately with a critical note and with certain pressures toward Kurti," Milivojevic noted.
He said that the initiative, or the letter sent to officials in the West, was an attempt by British politics to expose itself in important European affairs.
"For two centuries, Serbia has been on the agenda of British anti-Russian policy, and in British circles, it is treated as an exponent of Russian policy and Russian influence in these areas. When everything is summed up, it is certainly new pressure and involves individuals present in the policies of those states, but great results should not be expected," Milivojevic believes.
He assessed that the letter would not primarily affect the current policy of Western centers of power and their executive authorities, and he explained that one of the central interests of the West was de-escalation, returning to dialogue in the autumn, and ensuring space for new elections in northern Kosovo, as well as using the platform of the Ohrid Agreement as the basis for continuing the dialogue.
"This letter will not affect that policy, but it has a certain weight and shows that there are pro-Albanian structures that come from radical positions and that understand Pristina's policies," Milivojevic said.
Regarding President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic's comments on the sent letter, he assessed that Vucic was entirely correct, noting that Serbia had its own state and national interests from which it did not back down and that the letter was pressure for Serbia to change its position.
"Serbia is a target as an independent state with its position and state and national interest, from which it does not back down. In the forefront is Kosovo and Metohija; the second is the attitude toward Russia and toward friends; and the third is the attitude toward Serbs in the surrounding area and toward the Republic of Serbia. Serbia does not endanger anyone, everything it does is in accordance with norms and regulations and in accordance with international law," Milivojevic said.
Serbia also does not change its stance on Ukraine, and when asked whether Ukraine could change its stance on Kosovo, which has been speculated in recent days, Milivojevic says it would not be in Ukraine's interest to change that stance because, as he says, then it would be in a position where sovereignty and territorial integrity are not guaranteed to it as well.
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