Timothy Less: If the US and UK want to maintain authority, they will need to impose sanctions on Kosovo

The United States and the United Kingdom have clearly expressed opposition to the dinar ban and have told Kosovo to negotiate with Serbia on this matter within the framework of dialogue. If Kosovo refuses to comply, and if the US and UK want to uphold their authority in the Balkans, they'll have to back up their words with some form of sanctions, Timothy Less, a professor at the Center for Geopolitics at the University of Cambridge, said for Blic.

Less emphasized that sanctions could entail several things.

"They could sanction multiple individuals in Kosovo, including high-ranking officials in the government. They could withhold international funding. They could worsen their diplomatic relations and freeze support for Kosovo's recognition and integration into international institutions. Within Kosovo, they could attempt to change the government," he said.

That was his comment on the impasse in relations between Belgrade and Pristina and the fact that the Kosovo Prime Minister has ignored the West's demands to abandon the decision to phase out the dinar in Kosovo.

"It's also significant, though not surprising, that Russia and China have strongly opposed Kosovo's actions that harm Serbia, their key regional ally, as it means that all major powers are united in the need for Kosovo to back down. Accordingly, I think Kosovo will probably do so, although nothing is certain, as it would be very damaging for the government and Albin Kurti, just a year after the elections," Less says.