Surlic: The US is in favor of Kosovo's membership in the Council of Europe, but they are not in favor of rewarding Kurti now

Both the United States and leading European Union countries are in favor of Kosovo's membership in the Council of Europe, with the Americans believing that it is unnecessary to reward Albin Kurti ahead of the elections, especially considering everything that is happening to the Serbian community in Kosovo.

They also believe that this carrot should not be given until conditions regarding expropriation and the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities are met, as it would appear that Kosovo is being rewarded regardless of Washington's opposition, Stefan Surlic, an assistant professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences, says for Kosovo Online.

When asked whether there were two Western policies regarding Kosovo's accession to international organizations or if the "good cop, bad cop" strategy was at play, as different voices from Washington and Berlin were heard ahead of the vote in the Political Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on Kosovo's membership application, Surlic says that the West currently has two different strategies, but - for the same goal.

"Germany, France, and Britain are united in supporting Kosovo on the international stage, seeing it as an act of goodwill and a way to exert greater pressure on Belgrade to accept Kosovo on the international stage and Kosovo's membership in international organizations. These are actually different readings: Germans and French are united in believing that providing Kosovo with more space on the international stage will unlock dialogue and lead to greater rights for the Serbs internally, while Americans are not convinced of that, and it has been shown on the ground that discriminatory measures by Pristina can permanently jeopardize the existence of the Serbian community in Kosovo," Surlic pointed out.

Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O'Brien, it is worth noting, stated that progress in implementing the CSM agreement was a key element for Pristina to get what it wanted "which is membership in an international institution," while the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the German Bundestag, Michael Roth, stated that "additional conditions imposed by the United States on Kosovo for entry into the Council of Europe are unfair" and that such an approach by the United States towards Kosovo must stop.