Vujinovic: With demands to Macron, Kurti aims to provoke Serbia and divert attention from internal problems

Security studies researcher Nikola Vujinovic told Kosovo Online that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti is trying to provoke Serbia with the demands he will present today to Emmanuel Macron during his visit to France and to force it to react. He states that Kurti has no grounds to set conditions, but can only present them in an attempt to divert attention from internal problems, and assesses that these demands will not be met.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said last night that Kurti will ask Macron to ensure that weapons France sells to Serbia must not be used against Albanians, as well as that NATO should withdraw from the Ground Safety Zone and that the Kosovo Security Force should move to the north.

“These are demands that have existed for a long time, especially the second one related to the removal of KFOR from the Ground Safety Zone and for the Kosovo Security Force, which is illegitimate under Resolution 1244, to go to the north. The first demand is interesting because it shows that it is being closely monitored from whom Serbia purchases weapons. The entire visit to Macron makes sense within the framework of their internal political struggles, since Kurti wants to gain some support from the EU, specifically from those EU leaders who are in a cold war with Trump. Macron is one of the leading leaders in the EU who constantly criticizes Donald Trump regarding Iran, Greenland, and since the beginning of his mandate,” Vujinovic said.

He also assesses that Kurti is actually seeking support due to internal problems in Kosovo, while other topics, including security ones, serve as a distraction.

“So Kurti is seeking support for his internal political problems, and these topics related to security that will be on the agenda are more there to divert attention from what I consider the more important issue,” he said.

Vujinovic notes that Kurti has been encouraged after the lifting of measures against Kosovo and positive signals from the EU, especially following the agreement on laws concerning foreigners and vehicles. According to him, Kurti aims to present that agreement as his own contribution to Kosovo’s European path.

“He will certainly present new demands in that meeting to unblock Kosovo’s path toward the EU, which is currently frozen. So not only has he been encouraged to seek new concessions regarding Kosovo’s European path, but we also see that he has been emboldened to demand certain security-related matters that are beyond his authority. He cannot in any way deal with those issues except by making requests, and we see that he did not previously have this level of boldness,” he points out.

Vujinovic emphasizes that he believes Kurti’s demands will not be met because, among other things, the Serbian market is extremely important to France.

“It is pointless to think that they would in any way agree to prevent us from using weapons that we purchased with our own money as we see fit,” he said.

Regarding the demand for KFOR’s withdrawal from the Ground Safety Zone and the arrival of the Kosovo Security Force in northern Kosovo, Vujinovic warns that it represents a major security threat but, as he says, he does not believe that this demand will be met either.

“It is obvious that Mr Kurti wants to use the current global situation to somehow provoke Serbia. We saw his reaction to the Serbian army exercise, how it caused a major uproar in Kosovo. In this way, he is trying to provoke some reaction from us. Because before NATO and the EU we carry the label of ‘Russophiles’, we support Russia, meaning we have not imposed sanctions on it. We are currently neutral regarding Iran, the US, and Israel. Kurti, due to his own interests - and we know that his key policy is confronting the Serbian community, both in Kosovo and in Serbia - sees this as a way to provoke Serbia into reacting. Whether that reaction is sufficient, given that the president last night came out and revealed what Kurti will say, we will see tonight when statements from Emmanuel Macron and Mr Kurti are released,” Vujinovic concluded.