Name? Albin Kurti
Westphalian identity? Kosovar Albanian
Age? 46
Why is he in the news? Prime Minister Kurti of Kosovo accused neighbouring Serbia of attempting to “provoke a serious international conflict” after two government offices near the Serbian border were attacked. In addition, Kurti is also dealing with ethnic Kosovo Serbs protesting and blocking the Kosovo-Serbian border over temporary license plates…
Why do we care? Considering that Serbia doesn’t recognise Kosovo as an independent country, Serbia considers their mutual border only as a temporary boundary rather than an international border. Not to mention the fact that Serbian President Alexander Vučić has already warned NATO that Serbia will intervene in Kosovo should ethnic Serbs come under direct threat…
Why should you care? While unlikely as EU and NATO are already attempting negotiations, should these tensions turn into military conflict the international community will be drawn in. Since Kosovo has been recognised as independent by the US and other Western nations but not by Serbia, Russia, and China, war in the Balkans would quickly turn international; something you should care 8/10 about.
Who else cares? Quite obviously, Serbian President Vučić cares as once he learned Kurti would be following his footsteps and enforcing temporary license plates, Vučić was quick to call the move a “criminal action,” placing all Serbian troops in regions near Kosovo on high alert. Just in case that wasn’t enough, Vučić also allowed for Serbian helicopters to fly over the tense area last Friday…not exactly a move to de-escalate…
Any further comments? 22 years after the Kosovo War, thousands of NATO-led peacekeepers (including US troops) remain in Kosovo trying to stave off ethnic tensions between Kosovo Albanians and Kosovo Serbs. Considering the clear ‘success’ of this international military presence, we (and Kurti) can’t help but wonder whether President Biden will now consider pulling US troops out of Kosovo since he is “done fighting the wars of the past…”
